Kinetic evaluation of vertical force during locomotion of dogs weighing 5 kg or less at different speeds

• Grant number: 14/22493-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Navarro Alves de Souza
• Grantee: Cláudia Lopes Fernandes de Farias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Kinesiology is the quantitative study of movement and recent equipments in this area are effectives for locomotion and lameness evaluation in dogs. Kinetic and kinematic gait analyses are subareas of kinesiology. Kinetic gait analysis studies the ground reaction forces (GRF) generated during movement.Pressure walkway system is accurate equipment to perform kinetic evaluation. This kind of equipment provides consistent data about the vertical force such as the peak of vertical force and vertical impulse. Stance phase duration, rate of load between limbs, time and length of a complete foot strike cycle can also be evaluated with pressure walkway.The velocity of locomotion and weight of dog are important parameters that affect the GRF. Kinetic studies of small healthy dogs are required to basic science. The present study aims to perform vertical force gait analysis in 12 dogs without clinical signs of orthopedic injuries, weighing 5kg or less, using a pressure walkway in different velocities of locomotion. These results will report the vertical force curve patterns of small dogs in different velocities and it will be helpful to investigate orthopedic diseases in future studies. It is extremely important to focus in small breed dogs because they are a growing population in downtown of big cities and kinetic studies are scarce in small dogs.