Introduction. Exercise and head-out water immersion (HOI) have consistently reported an increase in central blood volume associated with the cephalad shift in blood volume. This causes an increase in left ventricular end diastolic volume and greater stroke volume during exercise compared to exercise in air at similar metabolic costs. In contrast, the metabolic response, specifically, blood lactate accumulation during exercise combined with HOI has yielded varying results depending on the mode of exercise. At present it appears that during exercise at similar metabolic costs, cycle ergometry exercise augments plasma lactate over treadmill running while HOI reduces the plasma lactate response to cycle ergometry exercise. The interaction between treadmill running and HOI appears less certain. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that running on a treadmill on land would result in a lesser accumulation of lactate than during HOI treadmill running. Methods. Eleven subjects' lactate thresholds were determined while running at a 0% grade at increasing speeds on a treadmill on land or during HOI on an underwater treadmill in a randomized cross-over design. Exercise tests were separated by a minimum of 3 days. Lactate concentrations were expressed in mM• kg-1 H2O after correcting for plasma solid concentration. During exercise changes in plasma volume were calculated from changes in hematocrit and hemoglobin. Lactate threshold was estimated from a log-log plot of lactate concentration (mM• kg-1 H2O) as a function of relative oxygen consumption (ml O2•min-1•kg-1 BW). Results. The energy cost and heart rate response to running at speeds between 5.5 and 7.5 mph was similar for land and HOI. During treadmill running on land, plasma volume decreased by 6.4 ± 4.0% at a speed of 7.5 mph. The decrease in plasma volume was significantly greater during HOI and averaged 18.7 ± 1.7% (p <0.05) at 7.5 mph. Plasma lactate was higher at any given treadmill speed ≥ 5.5 mph during HOI compared to land (p <0.05). Lactate threshold during HOI running (21.8 ± 1.6 mM• kg-1 H2O) was lower (p <0.05) than during running on the land treadmill (27.0 ± 1.6 mM• kg-1 H2O). Discussion. HOI running resulted in a consistent shift to the left (rise in plasma lactate occurred at a lower ) in the lactate threshold and elevated plasma lactate concentration at speeds between 5.5-7.5 mph despite similar metabolic and HR responses to the exercise.

Gait, pain, and self-efficacy alterations in osteoarthritis (OA) patients may be precursors for pathological alterations and are important variables to examine in an aquatic therapy study aimed at improving mobility. A greater understanding of these alterations will be useful for the treatment of OA and the prevention of OA progression. The purpose of this thesis was twofold: to review the effects of certain land and aquatic therapies on gait kinematics and mobility of people with osteoarthritis, and to examine the effects of short-term aquatic treadmill exercise on gait kinematics, perception of pain, and mobility in OA patients. A direct comparison of water versus land treadmill exercise was used to determine the acute effectiveness of aquatic therapy on gait kinematics, pain, and self-efficacy. Fourteen participants diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee performed three consecutive exercise sessions for each mode of exercise. Gait kinematics, pain, and self-efficacy were measured before and after each intervention. Angular velocity gain score during stance for left knee extension was significantly higher for aquatic treadmill exercise compared to land treadmill exercise by 38.1% (p = 0.004). Similarly, during swing, the gain scores for angular velocity were also greater for left knee internal rotation and extension by 65% and 20%, respectively (p = 0.004, p = 0.008). During stance, the joint angle gain score for left hip flexion was greater for land exercise by 7.23% (p = 0.007). Similarly, during swing, the angular velocity gain score for right hip extension was significantly greater for aquatic exercise by 28% (p = 0.01). Only the joint angle gain score for left ankle abduction during stance was significantly higher for land exercise by 4.72% (p = 0.003). No other joint angle gain scores for either stance or swing were significantly different for either aquatic or land treadmill exercise (p = 0.06-0.96). Perceived pain was 100% greater for land than aquatic treadmill exercise (p = 0.02) and self-efficacy gain scores were not different between conditions (p = 0.37). The present study demonstrated that an acute training period on an aquatic treadmill did influence joint angular velocity and arthritis-related joint pain. Although acute effects of training (i.e., pain, angular velocity) improve after aquatic rather than land training, it is unclear whether or not aquatic exercise is a better long-term alternative to land exercise, and further longitudinal research is needed to examine gait kinematic changes after an increased training period of aquatic exercise.

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Bakgrund: Inom djurrehabilitering används vattenlöpband, underwater treadmill (UWTM), som en träningsmetod för hundar. Träningsformen möjliggör anpassad träning för hunden efter individens behov. Hittills har kvantitativ forskning studerat träningseffekter av UWTM vid rehabilitering, dock saknas i nuläget kvalitativ forskning kring hur träningsmetoden fungerar avseende träningstillfället. Syfte: Undersöka hundägarnas erfarenheter av hundens träning med UWTM. Metod: Kvalitativ induktiv design. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem hundägare vars hundar utövat träningsformen UWTM vid minst två tillfällen de senaste sex månaderna. Databearbetning via kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Utifrån frågeställningen identifierades följande tre teman och tio kategorier: 1) Upplevda attityder till UWTM hos hund, med kategorierna koverta beteenden, overta beteenden, motivation vid tillfällena, inlärning. 2) Samspel mellan hund-ägare-fysioterapeut, med kategorierna individanpassad träning, interagerande mellan hund och fysioterapeut, interagerande mellan hund och ägare. 3) Förhållandet mellan annan träning och UWTM i rehabiliterande syfte, med kategorierna UWTM som profylax, mental tränings påverkan på UWTM, inga samband. Konklusion: Hundägarna upplevde att hundarna hade både positiva och negativa attityder till träningstillfällena med UWTM. Hundarnas attityder påverkades av samspelet mellan hund-ägare-fysioterapeut och hundens vardagsträning. Denna studie kan leda till vidareutveckling av individanpassad rehabilitering inom fysioterapi för djur. / Background: Within canine rehabilitation, underwater treadmill (UWTM) is used as an exercise for dogs. The UWTM enables adjustments in the exercise for the canine patient depending on the individual needs. So far, quantitative research has studied the effects of training using an UWTM within animal physiotherapy. However, there is today no qualitative research concerning how trai- ning with UWTM works during the training session. Purpose: Investigate the dog-owners’ experience of UWTM exercise in their dogs. Design: Qualitative inductive design. Semi-structured interviews of five dog-owners with dogs who have trained with an UWTM at least 2 sessions the last 6 months. For data analysis, a qualitative content analysis was conducted. Results: Based on the research question of the study, three themes and ten categories were identified. 1) Experienced attitudes in dogs performing UWTM exercise with the categories covert behaviours, overt behaviours, motivation during the sessions, learning. 2) Interplay between dog- dog owner-physical therapist, with the categories indivudalized exercise, interaction between dog and physical therapist, interaction between dog and owner. 3) The relationship between dog training and UWTM in rehabilitation purpose, with the categories UWTM as prophylaxis, the effect of mental training on UWTM, no connections. Conclusion: The dog owners perceptions were that their dogs had both positive and negative attitudes concerning the exercise with UWTM. The dogs attitudes were affected by the interaction between dog- dog owner- physiotherapist and the dogs everyday training. This study may lead to further development of the individualized rehabilitation in animal physiotherapy.