Doenças neurológicas e ortopédicas de cães e gatos submetidos à fisioterapia: 384 casos

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the main neurological and orthopedic diseases of dogs and cats referred to a physiotherapy service of a Veterinary Hospital, and to obtain information regarding age, sex, breed, physical therapy modalities, number of sessions, frequency, treatment time and functional recovery rate. We evaluated 384 records of patients with neurological and orthopedic dysfunction who underwent physical therapy, of which 370 (96.4%) were canine and 14 (3.6%) were feline. Of the 253 (66%) neurological cases, 243 were in dogs (96.4%) and 10 (3.6%) in cats and, of 131 (34%) orthopedic patients, 127 (97%) were in dogs and four in cats (3%). The largest casuistry of attendances was in patients with neurological dysfunction and canine species, with DDIV (72,4%) being the most observed disease, in the Dachshund breed. Among the orthopedic dysfunctions in dogs, the most frequent was the fracture of the femur (23.1%) with the Poodle being the most affected breed (16.5%). Dogs and cats with neurological diseases had the highest average in time and number of sessions. The most used modalities in all protocols of dogs and cats were massage, stretching, ROM exercises and NMES. Functional recovery rate was satisfactory in more than 60% of the cases in both groups, except in cats with neurological diseases.