Short-Term Efficacy of Capacitive-Resistive Electrical Transfer Therapy in Short-Haired Sled Dogs in Middle-Distance Competition

Mila Benito; Tania Jasny; Vinciane Roger; Christophe Pflieger; Dominique Grandjean

doi:10.3390/ani12243530

Short-Term Efficacy of Capacitive-Resistive Electrical Transfer Therapy in Short-Haired Sled Dogs in Middle-Distance Competition

Animals (Basel). 2022 Dec 14;12(24):3530. doi: 10.3390/ani12243530.

Authors

Mila Benito¹, Tania Jasny², Vinciane Roger³, Christophe Pflieger⁴, Dominique Grandjean³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, CEU Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, 46115 Valencia, Spain.
² VetFamily Partners S.L.U. C/Sant Cugat, 56, 08302 Barcelona, Spain.
³ Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, University Paris-Est, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
⁴ Clinique Vétérinaire les 4 Pattes, 28 Route de Wintzenheim, 68000 Colmar, France.

Abstract

Achieving the successful recovery of sled dogs is one of the key tasks for veterinary teams involved in clinical care for middle-distance sled dog competitions. This study compares the efficacy of capacitive-resistive electrical transfer (CRet) with that of massage in the treatment of lower back pain in 40 short-haired sled dogs during a medium-distance snow sled race (Lekkarod^TM-2021). The dogs were divided into two groups: a CRet group (20 dogs) and a massage group (20 dogs). All subjects received a single 18 min treatment session and were evaluated one hour after the end of the treatment. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed in which pre- and post-treatment pain measures were evaluated in relation to age and type of treatment. Older dogs were found to have higher significant pain scores before starting treatment. Both treatments reduce pain short-term in all cases. However, post-treatment pain values were significantly lower in dogs treated with CRet when compared to dogs treated with massage. The results show that capacitive-resistive electrical transfer has better short-term results and is beneficial in both younger and older dogs, making this technique attractive to veterinary teams working in canine sporting competitions.

Keywords: canine sports medicine; capacitive and resistive electrical transfer; massage; sport dogs; thoracolumbar pain.

Grants and funding

This study was not supported by any public funding. The material used belongs to the Unité de la Médecine de l’Élevage et du Sport, UMES, of the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort (Alfort School of Veterinary Medicine), University Paris-Est.