Influência da fisioterapia na recuperação motora de cães paraplégicos sem nocicepção submetidos a hemilaminectomia toracolombar

Abstract

Intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE) (Hansen type I) is considered one of the main causes of spinal cord compression injuries in dogs, whose clinical signs range from spinal hyperesthesia to paraplegia without nociception (deep pain). Physiotherapy has been indicated in order to assist in postoperative rehabilitation, however, data from the veterinary literature do not allow us to affirm the influence of this specialty on the motor recovery of dogs with severe neurological signs due to IVDS. Therefore, the objective of the retrospective study was to determine the influence of physical therapy on the motor recovery of paraplegic dogs without nociception caused by IVDS, submitted to thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy. We also compared the recovery time between dogs treated with surgery, associated or not with physical therapy in the postoperative period. Paraplegic dogs without nociception (perception of deep pain) lasting up to 96 hours, with a definitive diagnosis of thoracolumbar IVD and undergoing surgical treatment associated or not with physical therapy in the immediate postoperative period, were included. The motor recovery rate in dogs in GI was 31.8% and, in GII, 33.3%, with no difference between groups (p=0.92). For the time to return to ambulation, it was shorter in GI for those who recovered motor function (p=0.04), whose median was 90 days compared to 225 days in GII. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that physical therapy did not lead to higher rates of motor recovery in paraplegic dogs without nociception due to IVDS undergoing hemilaminectomy, but it promoted a shorter time to return to ambulation, compared to dogs that did not undergo physical therapy in the postoperative period