University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2013 Kinetic and kinematic evaluation of compensatory movements of the head, pelvis and thoraco-lumbar spine associated with asymmetrical weight bearing of the pelvic limbs in dogs David Alan Hicks [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Small or Companion Animal Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Hicks, David Alan, "Kinetic and kinematic evaluation of compensatory movements of the head, pelvis and thoraco-lumbar spine associated with asymmetrical weight bearing of the pelvic limbs in dogs. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1734 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by David Alan Hicks entitled "Kinetic and kinematic evaluation of compensatory movements of the head, pelvis and thoraco-lumbar spine associated with asymmetrical weight bearing of the pelvic limbs in dogs." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Comparative and Experimental Medicine. Darryl L. Millis, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Joseph P. Weigel, H. Steven Adair, Jonathan S. Wall Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Kinetic and kinematic evaluation of compensatory movements of the head, pelvis and thoraco-lumbar spine associated with asymmetrical weight bearing of the pelvic limbs in dogs A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville David Alan Hicks May 2013 Acknowledgements Thank you to everyone involved in making completion of this Doctor of Philosophy degree in Comparative and Experimental Medicine possible. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Darryl L. Millis who provided me with the means to pursue and produce this research. I would not be where I am today without your generosity and faith in me. You were the driving force behind my research, and you were so generous with your time, knowledge, and materials. You have taught me so much and I will forever be grateful for this. Thank you to my other committee members, Drs. Joe Weigel, Steve Adair and Jon Wall for your continued support, understanding, and patience through this process. I would like to thank Drs. Bob DeNovo and Claudia Kirk and my surgical residency mentors for the flexibility and patience you have shown to allow me to complete this degree. I would especially like to thank my resident mates, Drs. Carlos Souza and Chad Andrews for all of your support. I certainly could not have completed this without your help. Thank you to all of my colleagues that have assisted in data collection, with a special thank you to Drs. Jason Headrick and Tripp McEachern for all of your time, effort, and input into this project. Also, I thank all of my family and friends, past and present, who have continued to support and encourage me through this endeavor, with a very special thank you to my wife, Dr. Deborah Hicks, and my daughter, Caroline Jayne. This work most certainly could not have been completed without them. ii Abstract The purposes of this dissertation were to 1) determine ground reaction forces of dogs with mild asymmetrical weight-bearing of the pelvic limbs while trotting and 2) use three- dimensional motion analysis to identify compensatory vertical motion of the head and pelvis, and lateral motion of the thoraco-lumbar spine in dogs with mild asymmetrical weight-bearing of the pelvic limbs while trotting, and 3) use this information to introduce a subjective grading system for the pelvic limbs in dogs. Our hypotheses were that dogs with asymmetric weight bearing demonstrate compensatory motions of the head, pelvis and thoraco-lumbar spine while trotting, and that these motions would have a positive correlation with the degree of weight bearing asymmetry. Twenty-seven dogs were included in the study. Nine were normal dogs, which had no surgical intervention, 9 dogs had a cranial cruciate ligament transection and tibial plateau leveling osteotomy 3 ± 0.5 years prior to study start, and 9 dogs had a cranial cruciate ligament transection and extracapsular lateral fabellar-tibial suture (modified retinacular imbrications technique) 7 ± 0.5 years prior to study start. A kinematic model was created so that reflective markers placed on the sagittal crest of the skull, the ischiatic tuberosity and 3 points along the thoraco-lumbar spine of each test subject could be tracked over time while trotting. Kinetic and kinematic data were used to characterize weight-bearing asymmetry between the left and right pelvic limbs, and to describe linear vertical displacement of the head and pelvis, and lateral angular displacement of the thoraco-lumbar spine. Maximum, minimum and range of motion values were analyzed for any differences between the pelvic limbs. Dogs with subtle asymmetric weight bearing of the pelvic limbs demonstrated a greater range of pelvis linear vertical displacement (PLVD) on the side with a greater peak vertical force, and greater thoraco-lumbar lateral angular displacement (TL-LAD) toward the side with a lower peak vertical force while trotting. No differences in mean head linear vertical displacement (HLVD) were detected, and there were no significant correlations between the magnitude of HLVD, PLVD and TL-LAD and the degree of asymmetrical weight bearing of the pelvic limbs. iii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1…………………..……………………………...............................……....…….......1 INTRODUCTION….……………………………………………..................................................1 Subjective Gait Analysis in Veterinary Medicine.…….............................…....….…........2 Kinetic Gait Analysis in Veterinary Medicine....................................................................5 Kinematic Gait Analysis in Veterinary Medicine...............................................................7 Problem Statement…………………………………………..............................................9 Hypothesis………………………………………………................................…..............9 CHAPTER 2…………………………………………………..............................................…....10 MATERIALS AND METHODS…………………...………….......................…...........….........10 Facilities.............................................................................................................................11 Subjects.........……………………………………….………............................................11 Ground Reaction Force Measurement and Limb Designation Protocol..............................................................................................................................16 Objective Symmetry Grade Assignment...........................................................................17 Kinematic Measurement Protocol.....................................................................................19 Measurements: Head Linear Vertical Displacement.........................................................23 Measurements: Pelvic Linear Vertical Displacement.......................................................24 Measurements: Thoraco-Lumbar Lateral Angular Displacement.....................................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 3………………………………………………......................…..........................…..32 DATA ANALYSIS.........……………………………………......................…..............…...…....32 Statistics……………………………………………….....................……........................33 CHAPTER 4……………………………………….....................….......................................…..34 RESULTS.………………………………….…………….........…...................................…...….34 Ground Reaction Forces and Limb Designation...............................................................35 Objective Symmetry Grades.............................................................................................38 Head Linear Vertical Displacement..................................................................................40 Pelvic Linear Vertical Displacement.................................................................................43 Thoraco-Lumbar Lateral Angular Displacement..............................................................47 iv CHAPTER 5……………..…………………………………….................……............….…......51 DISCUSSION…………………………………………..................………………......................51 LIST OF REFERENCES……………………………………………….......................................77 APPENDICES….…………………..……………………………………....................................85 Appendix A: Mean PVF and VI values for statistical analysis.....................................................86 Appendix B: Mean HLVD values for statistical analysis..............................................................87 Appendix C: Mean PLVD values for statistical analysis...............................................................88