Pelvic limb thermography in dogs submitted to different thermotherapy modalities

Abstract

Veterinary physiatry is an area in need of further studies and a discipline in which the protocols used in the veterinary clinical routine are often extrapolated from studies in medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of thermotherapy and massage, through thermography, in promoting heating or cooling in the pelvic limb of healthy dogs. Five healthy adult dogs (male and female) of different breeds were subjected to 5 treatments: G1: massage without oil; G2: oil massage; G3: heating with a thermal bag at 43 ± 1 °C; G4: cryotherapy with ice pack; and G5: therapeutic ultrasound. All animals were submitted to all treatments. Thermographic evaluations were performed with the aid of an infrared camera before the procedure, immediately after treatment, and every minute up to 30 min. Superficial heating (P < 0.05) of the pelvic limb was performed with the thermal bag and therapeutic ultrasound modalities, whereas cooling was carried out withan ice bag. Massages with and without oil did not promote heating.Thus, the protocols chosen for the thermotherapy modalities were able to produce a change in surface temperature. Such a change was sufficient to obtain therapeutic effects in dogs, with the exception of massages with and without oil.