Altered muscle activation in agility dogs performing warm-up exercises: an acoustic myography study

Fuglsang-Damgaard, Lene Høeg; Harrison, Adrian P.; Vitger, Anne

doi:10.3920/cep190076

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…On the contrary, the parameter for coordination (E-score) increased, when level 0 was performed at the end of the trial, indicating that the dogs were more at ease with moving on the treadmill during the later stage. And, presumably, the muscles were warmer at this stage; a factor that may affect the scores in accordance with a previous study where agility dogs were shown to have increased E-scores of their triceps brachii after a series of warm-up exercises [ 12 ]. Despite a possible effect of warm-up, the E-score was the score that was most consistently challenged for both muscles in water level 3.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Acoustic myography (AMG) was used to record muscular activity, while the dogs walked in a water treadmill. Through sensors placed on the skin with self-adhesive tape, AMG uses the vibrations of working muscles as a non-invasive and easy-to-use method to assess muscle activity, as shown in several recent studies involving human subjects [ 7 , 8 ], horses [ 9 , 10 ] and dogs [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, during hard work muscles may react by increasing fiber activity time as well as by recruiting more fibers at a higher frequency, and hence the E-, S- and T-scores will be low. For more details about AMG, the reader is referred to Fuglsang-Damgaard et al [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of water depth and speed on muscle fiber activation of healthy dogs walking in a water treadmill

Vitger

Bruhn-Rasmussen²,

Pedersen³

et al. 2021

Acta Vet Scand

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Background Water treadmills are frequently used in the rehabilitation of dogs, for example with the purpose of re-building muscular strength after surgery. However, little is known about how different water depths and velocities affect the muscular workload during aquatic locomotion. This study used acoustic myography to assess hind limb muscle fiber activation in 25 healthy large-breed dogs walking in a water treadmill. Acoustic myography sensors were attached to the skin over the vastus lateralis of the quadriceps and the biceps femoris muscles. The dogs walked at two velocities (30 and 50 m/min) and four water depths: bottom of the pads, hock, stifle and mid-femur. Acoustic myograph signals were analyzed for changes in three muscle function parameters: efficiency/coordination (E-score) and spatial (S-score) and temporal (T-score) summation. Results Differences between E, S, and T were statistically significant compared across different speeds (30, 50) and water levels (0, 1, 2, 3) using a one-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons (Tukey; Geisser-Greenhouse correction) as well as a two-tailed one sample t-test. At 50 m/min in water at the mid-femur, the biceps femoris was less efficient (P < 0.001) and recruited more fibers (P = 0.01) at a higher firing rate (P = 0.03) compared to working in shallower water, while the vastus lateralis was also less efficient (P < 0.01), but spatial and temporal summation did not change significantly. At 30 m/min, biceps efficiency was reduced (P < 0.01) when water was at the mid-femur compared to the bottom of the pads level. Walking in stifle- or hock-deep water did not show increased muscle activation for either muscle compared to walking in water at the bottom of the pads. Conclusion More muscle activation was required to walk in water at a depth at the level of the mid-femur compared to shallower water, and this exercise was more demanding for the biceps femoris, a muscle engaged in propulsion, than for vastus lateralis. These findings may help practitioners towards making more precise rehabilitation protocols.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The impact of water depth and speed on muscle fiber activation of healthy dogs walking in a water treadmill

Vitger

Bruhn-Rasmussen²,

Pedersen³

et al. 2021

Acta Vet Scand

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Tricks may represent more specific warm-up strategies that could improve the skill and coordination of dogs [ 19 ]. Warm-up of agility dogs, consisting of exercise in increasing speeds and tricks, improves the efficiency of musculus triceps brachii [ 20 ]—a muscle highly activated during jumping in agility [ 21 ]. Based on human studies, neuromuscular warm-up programmes, including exercises to improve strength and balance, decrease the risk of injury [ 22 ], suggesting that the warm-up of agility dogs may have beneficial effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Part I of Finnish Agility Dog Survey: Training and Management of Competition-Level Agility Dogs

Inkilä

Hyytiäinen

Hielm‐Björkman

et al. 2022

Animals

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Knowledge regarding training, competition, and management routines of agility dogs is lacking. Through a retrospective online questionnaire, Finnish owners and handlers of 745 competition-level agility dogs provided information on training routines and management of these dogs during one year free of agility-related injuries. Competition routines were collected from the national competition results database. Most dogs trained agility 1–2 times a week, with a median active training time of 18 min a week. Dogs competed in a median of 2.1 runs per month at a speed of 4.3 m/s. Common field surfaces were different types of artificial turfs and dirt surface. Warm-up and cool-down were established routines, and 62% of dogs received regular musculoskeletal care. Moreover, 77% of dogs underwent conditioning exercises, but their frequency was often low. Additionally, dogs were walked for a median of 1.5 h daily. Pearson’s chi-squared and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to evaluate the association between a dog’s competition level and training and competition variables. A dog’s competition level was associated with competition (p < 0.001) and training frequency (p < 0.001); dogs at higher levels compete more but train less than dogs at lower levels. This study provides information on training, competition, and management routines of competing agility dogs.

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“…Understanding of how dogs' physical activity patterns are related to their health, well-being, injury and disease in various life stages and performance is increasingly important to canine welfare ( 22 ). However, science-based guidelines for achieving health and sport-specific benefits from physical activity in dogs are still sparse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical activity and sport-specific training patterns in Swedish sporting and working trial dogs—A questionnaire survey

et al. 2022

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ObjectiveTo explore physical activity patterns, including conditioning exercise and sport-specific training, and management routines utilized by handlers of Swedish sporting and working dogs participating in agility, obedience, rally obedience and working trial disciplines.ProceduresDog handlers provided information on competition-level dogs through an internet-based cross-sectional and descriptive survey on physical activity, sport-specific training and management. Results are reported overall and stratified by participation in specific disciplines.ResultsWe received 1615 replies to the questionnaire. After data cleaning, 1582 dogs (98%) remained for the analysis. Of these, 430 participated in agility, 790 in obedience, 596 in rally obedience, and 847 dogs had competed in a working trial, i.e., messenger, protection, search or tracking. Number of disciplines performed by each dog varied between one and five. Most common was participation in one (n = 767, 48%) or two (n = 541, 34%) disciplines. Out of the dogs competing in one discipline, 38% (n = 294) were considered to be specialized as they actively trained only that discipline for ≥10 months per year. The vast majority of the dogs (n = 1129, 71%) received more than 1 h of daily physical activity, e.g., walks, and only n = 51 (3%) were never exercised off-leash. Preferred self-selected gait was trot (n = 907, 57%) and gallop (n = 499, 32%). A fifth (n = 319, 20%) never played with other dogs. The majority (n = 1328, 84%) received more than 1 h of vigorous physical conditioning exercise per week. Almost three quarters (n = 1119, 71%) participated in physical conditioning exercise. Two thirds (n = 953, 60%) participated in at least 3 h of sport-specific training per week and only a very small portion (n = 35, 2%) trained their specific discipline less than once per week. Median total work load, i.e., all daily physical activity, vigorous physical conditioning exercise and sport-specific training, was 16.5 h per week.Conclusion and clinical relevanceWe observe physical activity at moderate to high durations and moderate to vigorous intensities among Swedish sporting and working trial dogs. Most dogs received physical conditioning exercise, but not all dogs were warmed up before training and competition. Our study provides veterinary professionals and dog trainers with valuable insights on the physical exposures and management routines of sporting and working trial dogs.

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Altered muscle activation in agility dogs performing warm-up exercises: an acoustic myography study

Cited by 8 publications

References 35 publications

The impact of water depth and speed on muscle fiber activation of healthy dogs walking in a water treadmill

The impact of water depth and speed on muscle fiber activation of healthy dogs walking in a water treadmill

Part I of Finnish Agility Dog Survey: Training and Management of Competition-Level Agility Dogs

Physical activity and sport-specific training patterns in Swedish sporting and working trial dogs—A questionnaire survey

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