Efficacy of physiotherapy program on treatment in dogs with osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial

Altinkaya, N., Kavlak, E. and Özgencİl, F.E. (2025). Efficacy of physiotherapy program on treatment in dogs with osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 49(2), pp. 38–47. DOI: 10.55730/1300-0128.4369.

This randomized controlled trial, conducted by Neyran Altinkaya, Erdoğan Kavlak, and Fatma

Eser Özgencİl, investigated the effectiveness of a physiotherapy program in dogs with hip osteoarthritis (OA). Twenty dogs with hip OA were divided into two groups: a physiotherapy group (PTG) and a control group (CG). Both groups received a hyaluronic acid (HA) injection on the first day. The PTG then underwent a four-week physiotherapy program that included massage, electrophysical modalities, and exercises, while the CG did not. The study measured pain intensity, muscle mass (via thigh circumference), and lameness scores at the beginning and end of the study.

The results showed significant improvements in the PTG. Pain intensity and lameness scores decreased, and muscle mass increased. When compared to the control group, the dogs that received physiotherapy showed a statistically greater improvement across all these metrics. The authors concluded that a combined treatment of hyaluronic acid and a physiotherapy program is more effective than HA alone for reducing pain and increasing muscle mass in dogs with osteoarthritis, suggesting that physiotherapy is a beneficial and safe treatment option for this condition.

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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee TÜBİTAK, Ankara, Turkey. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).