Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
What affects hip movement in adult Greyhound dogs
By Nicholson, H L et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2007·School of Animal Studies, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Determinants of passive hip range of motion in adult Greyhounds.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of adult Greyhounds was studied to measure how far their hips could move and what factors influenced this range. The researchers found that male Greyhounds were generally heavier and older than females, and that the flexibility of their hips was affected by their stifle joint movement and whether they had undergone race training. Interestingly, Greyhounds that had been trained for racing showed greater hip flexibility compared to those that hadn't. This suggests that training may help improve the range of motion in their hips, likely due to the stretching involved in their workouts.
People also search for: Greyhound hip range of motion · why is my dog limping · dog joint flexibility training · racing Greyhound health issues
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the ranges of normal pelvic limb range of motion in adult Greyhound dogs, and to explore which factors influence hip range of motion in a population bred to meet the specific demands of racing. Design A cross-sectional study design. METHOD: Thirty-two dogs (17 male and 15 female) 13 to 81 months old were randomly selected from a local pool of 160 Greyhounds. Goniometric measurements of hip, stifle and hock range of motion were recorded in triplicate. Signalment information collected included sex, weight and age of each Greyhound. The outcome factors for the study were range of hip flexion and hip extension. The theorised exposures, age, sex, weight, racing history and hock and stifle range of motion, were modelled against the outcome variables by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Male dogs were significantly heavier (P < 0.001) and older (P < 0.002) than female dogs. Mean hip flexion was 71.75 degrees and mean hip extension 128.10 degrees. The determinants of hip flexion were sex (P = 0.008) and range of stifle flexion (P = 0.002). Race training did not influence the range of hip flexion in the sample. Determinants of hip extension included range of stifle extension (P = 0.015), history of race training (P = 0.004) and hock flexion. The mean hip extension of raced Greyhounds was 134.95 degrees compared with 121.25 degrees for unraced Greyhounds (mean difference -13.70, 95% confidence interval -18.12, -9.29; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study has reported isolated pelvic limb joint range of motion in the racing Greyhound. Hip range of motion was affected by stifle range of motion, sex and race training. Dogs that had received race training had greater flexibility, possibly due to training having an active stretching role on muscles, tendons and other structures limiting the hip range of motion.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17547633/