Joint pain and canine arthritis (Click for full presentation)

Breeders, Owners, Trainers and Veterinarians should all participate in this quest. Given the fact that most dog joint problems are developmental in nature and are of combination of causes, we probably can not prevent them from happening but only try and limit their prevalence and reduce the suffering associated with it.  If all of us act in synchrony, we may have a better chance.  Although there are some disagreements with the ways we could deal with this issue, there are some clear areas we can work on.

Breeders - Adhere to strict regulation and monitoring procedures regarding genetic selection. Breeders are also owners  and should not neglect diet and exercise as an integral part of maintaining dogs health.

Owners - Diet and exercise are the most important areas need to be dealt with. Understanding the dogs joints may help in early detections and prevention of problems.

Trainers - Building exercise programs that will be appropriate for the dog’s age  and stage in training is an important aspect  in joint health.

Vets - Small animal practitioners play little role in the genetic selection. We can however try and detect affected dogs as early as possible and prevent or at least reduce the long term suffering associated with canine arthritis.

WHEN TO CONSIDER XRAYS FOR DETECTION OF PROBLEMS

• If the lameness is severe & persistent.
• If the lameness or joint pain appeared due to an acute episode.
• If the lameness is not very severe but persists for more than several days.
• If the lameness is intermittent for a period of few weeks.
• Developmental joint problems are very different from traumatic problems.
• Developmental joint problems occur as the dog grows, and therefore can be reversed if detected early.
• Once developmental joint problem establishes and the dog cease to grow, canine arthritis will progress and this is an irreversible process.
• The younger the dog the more significant the timing for x-rays.
• Frequent monitoring of young dogs may be beneficial in preventing developmental joint problems.

COMMON JOING CONDITIONS

Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia is not a congenital disease in dogs. This means that puppies are not born with loose hips, unlike human infants who usually have the problem at birth. In puppies, the laxity develops over time. It may not be very easy to detected hip laxity in very young pups and therefore diagnose Hip Dysplasia. The sooner we detect hip laxity the sooner we can initiate treatment and the better the long-term prognosis.

TREATMENT

JPS (Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis), TPO (Triple Pelvic Osteotomy), Exercise, Medications, FHE (Femoral Head Excision), THR (Total Hip Replacement).

Elbow Dysplasia (ED)

The elbow joint is formed by three bones, the humerus, ulna and radius. It is believed that for normal joint development the three bones must develop at a synchrony so a normal joint shape maintained. Problems in growth synchrony is to blame for abnormal development, joint pain and canine arthritis of the elbow joint. Elbow dysplasia is commonly a bilateral disease, which means both elbows may be affected. ED affects the large and giant breeds, although other breeds can be affected. With age canine arthritis begins and progresses for the life of the dog. Severe arthritis also causes joint pain, which usually occurs in the older dog who may have had problems as a puppy or who never showed any previous signs at all. Canine arthritis develops due to the body’s response to inflammation and elbow incongruence (luck of fitness of joint components). The most notable changes that occur are the progressive thickening of the tissues around the dog joint and the production of bone around the joint surface.

Cruciate Ligament Injury  & Patellar Luxation

•Cranial Cruciate Ligament injury and Patellar luxation are a major dog joint problems that prevent normal limb function in most cases.  Large breed dogs do not cope well with these type of joint problems.  In most cases surgical intervention is the only answer for return to athletic ability.  Patellar luxation is a developmental condition, where is Cruciate injury tends to be a degenerative  or traumatic condition.

TREATMENT

Cruciate Injury

• Replacing the ligament or mimicking its function (Extra or Intra Capsular techniques)
• Creating a situation where the dog does not need the ligament – TTO (Triple Tibial Osteotomy), TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy), TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement).

Patella Luxation

Correction of the structural abnormalities of the bones and ligaments (Trochleoplasty, Tibial tuberosity transposition, capsular and facial imbrication and capsular release or desmotomy). Often these procedures carried out simultaneously and the combination is depending on the severity of the luxation and bone deformity. occasionally a more advanced bony correction is needed to reach good anatomical alignments.