Study findings will help give vets a picture of healthy dog core stability.

Researchers hope to develop a scoring system for core muscle stability

Researchers at the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine are to use techniques and technology developed to improve human health to help dogs with paralysis and other neurological problems.

The team are working with the department of mechanical engineering sciences to analyse the movement of 30 healthy smooth, long and wire haired miniature dachshunds – a breed prone to spinal problems - in the study at Surrey’s Biomedical Engineering Gait Analysis Laboratory, usually reserved for human subjects.

Using a 3D motion capture camera system, a pressure mat and a force plate, researchers will measure the dogs’ stability while standing and monitor how their back and limbs move during walking.

Some of the dogs will be kitted out in 24 tiny reflective markers so motion cameras can capture their movements as a 3D computer model, with the aim of developing a system to score the dogs' core muscle stability, similar to the one used for humans following a stroke.

The results will help vets to get an objective picture of what healthy dog core stability looks like so they can make evidence-based decisions about the rehabilitation of dogs that are unwell.

Study leader Dr Constanza Gómez Álvarez, lecturer in musculoskeletal biology, said: “Currently, vets rely on clinical examination and neurological indicators to evaluate the recovery of dogs paralysed by intervertebral disc disease.

"We hope to establish an objective score for healthy core stability, so we can make an unbiased analysis of patients and tailor rehabilitation methods accordingly. We also hope to improve the understanding of how this breed moves and why these dogs suffer from back problems.

"The data will help us to investigate new forms of rehabilitation, for example low level laser therapy, with the aim of shortening recovery times.”

The research team, which also includes Dr Aliah Shaheen, lecturer in human movement analysis and Dr Clare Rusbridge, reader in veterinary neurology and chief of neurology at Fitzpatrick Referrals, where part of the study is taking place, hopes to publish results from the study later this year.