The Effect of Progressively More Unstable Platforms on Standing Postural Control Used in Canine Fitness and Rehabilitation

Background: Unstable platforms are commonly used in canine fitness and rehabilitation; however, the challenges to postural control they provide are currently unknown. This study evaluated the effect of standing on three commonly used postural exercise platforms on the level of stability of the thoracolumbar and lumbosacral regions.

Materials and Methods: Inertial measurement units (IMUs; Delsys, Natick, USA) were placed on thoracolumbar (T12-L1) and lumbosacral (L7-S1) regions to assess angular velocities in three anatomical planes on nine dogs from the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. Standing postural control exercises were performed on a stable platform, front and rear K9FITbone balance platform and FitPaws TRAX Peanut (60 cm; [Fig. 1]).

Results: Significant incremental increases in stability challenge were seen in the thoracolumbar region in the sagittal (p < 0.001), coronal (p < 0.001) and transverse (p = 0.003) planes, and the coronal and transverse planes of the lumbosacral region (p < 0.001), with only the sagittal plane showing a difference on the Peanut (p < 0.001). Proportional changes for thoracolumbar region instability between stable stance and K9FITbone produced an average increase of 34% with the Peanut producing a further 42% increase, correspondingly the thoracolumbar region showed a 14% increase with the K9FITbone and a further 60% increase with the Peanut ([Fig. 1]).

Fig. 1 Thoracolumbar (TL) and lumbosacral (LS) angular velocities.

Conclusion: Standing postural exercises performed on the different platforms provide substantial and incremental increases in postural control challenge which may be useful in progressive rehabilitation exercises. IMUs have the capability of assessing changes in thoracolumbar and lumbosacral stability which may offer useful objective outcome measures of postural control during rehabilitation programs.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 September 2025