Abstract
Purpose: Pain is the most common reason for healthcare consultation in the United States. Pain affects every area of life; biologically, psychologically, and socially. These three constructs make up every individual and thus contribute to their perceived quality of life. The use of therapy dogs (TD) has been widely researched as a source of non-pharmacological pain management. Studies have proven that a dog can reduce perceived pain in people with a variety of comorbidities. The purpose of this study was to prove that pain is modulated biologically by dogs and not just by human perception. Methods: This was a one group pre-post test conducted on 27 healthy people (20 females,7 males) between 18 and 54 years old. Participants reported for 2 separate sessions 48 hours to 10 days apart. The first session the participants filled out the informed consent, an initial demographic questionnaire, and the Coleman-Dog Attitude Scale (C-DAS). Participants sat while their pain pressure threshold (PPT) was taken off their third fingernail, utilizing the Algomed pressure algometer. After, they had quiet rest with no distractions for 15 minutes. Finally, the researcher remeasured their PPT. In the beginning of the second session, PPT was taken on the participants. Then 15 minutes were spent with the therapy dog (TD), followed by taking the participants’ PPT again. Finally, they filled out a Global Rate of Change (GROC) scale to record perceived effectiveness. Results: A repeated measures ANOVA was used to measure the PPT difference between the four time points (pre-quiet rest, post-quiet rest, pre-dog, post-dog). Statistical significance was found between pre- and post-dog PPT (p=0.001), and post-quiet rest and post-dog PPT (p=0.007). There was no statistical significance between any PPT and C-DAS. The perceived effectiveness (GROC) was not correlated with attitude toward dogs (C-DAS). Perceived effectiveness (GROC) was negatively associated with baseline pain sensitivity (pre-quiet rest pressure pain thresholds (rho=0.403, p=0.037). Conclusion: These findings indicate dogs can biologically alter pain in the body and increase pain threshold along with decreasing pain sensitivity regardless of any personal attitude towards dogs in healthy individuals without pain.
Keywords: pain, dog, pain pressure threshold
Recommended Citation
Haak LL, Verdegan RL. The Effect of a Therapy Dog on Pressure Pain Threshold in Healthy Individuals. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2025 Jul 28;23(3), Article 13.
