Jimenez Isabel A, Canapp Sherman O, Percival Monica L
Veterinary Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group, Annapolis Junction, MD, United States.
Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Oct 17;9:1025331. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1025331. eCollection 2022.
Agility is a rapidly growing canine performance sport worldwide, yet the literature is sparse regarding the impact of ground substrate on performance and injury. Approximately 1/3 of dogs participating in agility trials will experience a performance-related injury. The impact of ground material has been well-documented in racing greyhounds, equine athletes, and humans, but has been minimally investigated in agility dogs. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, 300 respondents (handlers, owners, and trainers) of 308 agility dogs completed an online survey regarding their dog's training and competition regimen, history of injury, perceived association between injury and substrate and/or agility obstacle, markers of decreased performance (MDPs) observed on different substrates, and changes to routine following injury. 35.7% of dogs sustained a training injury (TI) and 11.2% sustained a competition injury (CI). The most commonly reported sites of injury were the shoulder (TI: 33.9%, CI: 25.4%), forelimb digits (TI: 14.7%, CI: 11.9%) and iliopsoas muscle (TI: 11.9%, CI: 13.6%). Dogs most commonly trained on natural grass (85.3%), artificial turf (50.8%), and dirt (34.5%). Significantly fewer MDPs were observed on natural grass than any other substrate except dirt. Significantly more MDPs were noted on rubber mat compared to natural grass, artificial turf, dirt, sand, or foam mat. Rubber mat had the highest Incidence Proportion (IP) (32.0%) of TI and was perceived to be related to TI in 87.5% of cases. Obstacles perceived to be associated with injuries included jumps (TI: 37.5%, CI: 27.8%), contacts (TI: 29.7%, CI: 22.2%), weaves (TI: 11.9%, CI: 13.9%), and tunnels (CI: 25.0%). Overall, agility dogs were perceived to perform best on natural grass and dirt, while rubber mat was associated with injury and decreased performance. Respondents were willing to make significant alterations to their dog's routine due to a perceived association between substrate, injury, and performance. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of substrate composition and maintenance, and inform evidence-based recommendations to maximize performance and minimize performance-related injury in agility dogs.
敏捷犬运动在全球范围内是一项迅速发展的犬类竞技运动，但关于地面材质对运动表现和损伤影响的文献却很稀少。参加敏捷犬比赛的犬只中，约三分之一会遭遇与运动表现相关的损伤。地面材质对赛犬、马术运动员和人类的影响已有充分记录，但在敏捷犬方面的研究却极少。在这项回顾性横断面研究中，308只敏捷犬的300名受访者（训犬员、犬主和训练师）完成了一项在线调查，内容涉及他们犬只的训练和比赛方案、受伤史、对损伤与地面材质和/或敏捷障碍之间关联的认知、在不同地面材质上观察到的运动表现下降指标（MDPs），以及受伤后的日常变化。35.7%的犬只遭受过训练损伤（TI），11.2%的犬只遭受过比赛损伤（CI）。最常报告的受伤部位是肩部（TI：33.9%，CI：25.4%）、前肢脚趾（TI：14.7%，CI：11.9%）和髂腰肌（TI：11.9%，CI：13.6%）。犬只最常训练的地面材质是天然草地（85.3%）、人工草皮（50.8%）和泥土（34.5%）。与除泥土外的任何其他地面材质相比，在天然草地上观察到的MDPs明显更少。与天然草地、人工草皮、泥土、沙子或泡沫垫相比，橡胶垫上观察到的MDPs明显更多。橡胶垫的训练损伤发病率最高（IP）（32.0%），在87.5%的案例中被认为与训练损伤有关。被认为与损伤有关的障碍包括跳跃（TI：37.5%，CI：27.8%）、接触（TI：29.7%，CI：22.2%）、穿梭杆（TI：11.9%，CI：13.9%）和隧道（CI：25.0%）。总体而言，人们认为敏捷犬在天然草地和泥土上表现最佳，而橡胶垫与损伤和运动表现下降有关。由于认为地面材质、损伤和运动表现之间存在关联，受访者愿意对犬只的日常训练进行重大调整。需要进一步开展前瞻性研究，以评估地面材质的成分和维护情况，并提供基于证据的建议，以最大限度地提高敏捷犬的运动表现，并将与运动表现相关的损伤降至最低。
