The Importance Of Prehabilitation In Sports Performance

Tracy Carter DVM BSc MRCVS / Prehabvet

In any training centre, program, class, or lesson - there’s an emphasis on foundation. Mirroring the adage, “perfect practice makes perfect”, sports enthusiasts plan puppies or partners years in advance. A typical year provides options for significant travel with multiple national or international events.

New information is debated and dissected, aimed at consistent sports progression. Canine partnerships focus on developing in-depth training comprehension, resulting in faster dogs and narrowed competition. Skill increases are followed by calls for safety.

That emphasis on protection and partnership creates enhanced performance measures, with recent attention to regulatory standards in agility. Changes in the past five years include altered jump heights, a minimum obstacle distance, and modified equipment design. Competitors routinely put their partners first, looking for proactive measures in the arena and preventative care outside of it.

Performance strategy becomes harder to manage, as year-round opportunities for partnership increase across all levels. More opportunity demands more practice, increasing repetition and physical preparation. A fine line stretches between maintaining peak performance, or maintenance problems. between competitor knowledge and application. Starting with education, young dog assessments evaluating gait, posture, and muscle function are ideal to demonstrate fatigue markers.

Prescriptive exercise plans allow competitors to incorporate improvements into performance building blocks. Variability in training plans becomes more suited for a sportsspecific purpose.

Clinicians can then collaborate with coaches to develop appropriate movement targets and place them into increasing skill challenges. Dynamic plans focused on mental and physical control help accelerate learning and confidence. Apply by reviewing footage of training sessions, providing individualized feedback that capitalizes on previous foundation.

Agility was merely a demonstration at Crufts in 1971; initial training was based with the dog on a handler’s left, an extension of a competitive obedience skill. Dogs commonly kept to a neutral pace. It was recognized as an official Kennel Club sport in 1980.

ACPAT was launched in 1985. Veterinary medicine followed suit much later. In 2018, the

American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine (ACVMR) achieved status as a fully recognised speciality.

Foundation now includes an emphasis on developing body awareness, though learning patterns and social habits remain an early focus. Minimum age requirement for most competitions is 18 months old, with exception of sheepdog trials†. Athletes usually approach a competitive peak from three to seven years old, dependent on qualifying processes.

Prehabilitation is essential for these teams‡. Although training protocols initially emphasize proprioception, this can taper with precedence to skills and is limited in scope. Clinicians know that sports management is not a steadystate, where perfect practice meets linear improvement.

Demands for improved athletic welfare exists, but with fractured awareness of existing clinical resources. Protocols for safety standards or skill progression are easy to find, but current available and free information on conditioning often disregards individualization. Client expectations can mirror sports principles for skill outcomes, expecting steady-stage advances.

If competitor consciousness then drives a need for prehabilitation, what does this look like in practice?

Balancing the later sustainable athlete requires a clinical plan with teamwork across disciplines. Advising clients to train a neutral stance is an excellent place to Consultations prioritizing start in prehabilitation: this will help highlight areas of asymmetry scientific principles will and provides groundwork for self-assessment. help progress partnerships and improve strategies for goal-based outcomes. At this stage, prehabilitation helps form schedules for periodization and specificity. If rehabilitation is needed, absent sports-specific training principles can slow progress. Remedial training of the athlete may be needed before discharge, as well as focusing on observational development of the handler. Both are skills that could be incorporated into a prehabilitation plan. Our goal is not to create perfect practice, but enable teams a continued pursuit of sport. Standards that improve owner education and athletic care also provide professional learning opportunities for research, interdisciplinary knowledge, and future patient outcomes.

Dogs will be trained throughout their career for event strategy and skill work.

Placing prehabilitation into a basic sports foundation helps narrow the gap

Event Age Progression Levels Runs/Day Season Default Position

Agility 15-18 months Winning Points

Flyball 12-18 months Can earn title points based on speed KC: 1-7 UKA: 4

Divisions (determined by time)

1-4 April-Oct Variable

Heats (3-5 runs) Summer Sprint

Obedience 6 months Winning 7 1-2 classes All Year Heel

Herding Any None - Multiple All Year Partial Crouch

Canicross 12-18 months - Age / Distance Sept-May Pull

‡ Scenarios for Prehabilitation by Sport

Event Presentation

Agility Reduced muscle control Reduced fitness for sport Lack of postural variation (during skill acquisition or reward focus) Biopyschosocial contributions

Flyball Suboptimal shock absorption Reduced fitness for sport

Obedience

Herding

Canicross Crabbing Shortening of cervical strap musculature Cardiovascular endurance

Lordosis Decreased sternal glide (movement in partial elbow and shoulder flexion) Decreased functional shoulder extension Chronic changes to fascial elasticity Reduced flexibility (pulling) Decreased functional hip extension Gluteal tension