Spinal Locomotion in Cats Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Prospective Study

• Main Authors: Ângela Martins, Cátia Marina Silva, Débora Gouveia, Ana Cardoso, Tiago Coelho, Óscar Gamboa, Eduardo Marcelino, António Ferreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Animals
• Subjects: spinal cord injury; treadmill training; central pattern generator; spinal locomotion; reflexes; cats
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1994

This article aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensive neurorehabilitation in paraplegic cats, with no deep pain perception (grade 0 on the modified Frankel scale), with more than three months of injury. Nine cats, admitted to the Arrábida Veterinary Hospital/Arrábida Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAA), were subjected to a 12-week intensive functional neurorehabilitation protocol, based on ground and underwater treadmill locomotor training, electrostimulation, and kinesiotherapy exercises, aiming to obtain a faster recovery to ambulation and a modulated locomotor pattern of flexion/extension. Of the nine cats that were admitted in this study, 56% (<i>n</i> = 5) recovered from ambulation, 44% of which (4/9) did so through functional spinal locomotion by reflexes, while one achieved this through the recovery of deep pain perception. These results suggest that intensive neurorehabilitation can play an important role in ambulation recovery, allowing for a better quality of life and well-being, which may lead to a reduction in the number of euthanasia procedures performed on paraplegic animals.