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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of chronic pain in dogs. It affects 80% of dogs over the age of 8 years old, and potentially up to 35% of dogs of all ages.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis simply means “inflammation of the joints”.
Cartilage within the joint is destroyed and not replaced during the degenerative process of arthritis. The inner lining of the joint capsule becomes inflamed, and the outer fibrous layer becomes thickened and restrictive. New bone is laid down around the joint margins and the bone underlying the cartilage remodels, losing its ability to absorb concussional forces. The supportive structures such as ligaments weaken, leaving the joint unstable and weak.
Identifying arthritis in your dog
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Arthritis is progressive, meaning it gets slowly worse over time. Arthritis causes chronic pain.
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Dogs with arthritis related pain will usually show much more subtle and gradual behavioural or physical changes.
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Chronic pain presents very differently to acute pain. Signs can be very subtle and will present differently in every dog. The signs can vary from an obvious limp to simply walking slower, or being stiff when they first get up after resting.
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Diagnosing arthritis initially relies on recognising changes in behaviour, posture and mobility.
Who might be potentially predisposed to arthritis
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Some medium to large breeds such as rottweilers, labradors and springer spaniels.
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Dogs with known developmental joint problems such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia or patellar luxation.
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Dogs that are overweight.
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Dogs that have sustained trauma to a joint.
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Dogs that have had previous surgery on a joint.
So what causes arthritis?
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Genetics
Joints should be a perfect fit. A joint that does not fit perfectly causes abnormal movement patterns. Normal mechanical forces applied daily to the abnormal joint may lead to early onset of arthritis. Developmental diseases such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and patellar luxation are common underlying causes of hip, elbow and stifle arthritis respectively.
2. Obesity
Excess body weight will place excess forces and unnecessary stress through a dog’s compromised joints. ‘Fat is fuel to the fire of arthritis’. Fat is chemically active, releasing inflammatory substances which worsen the pain of arthritis. An overweight arthritic dog will deteriorate faster. Canine Arthritis Management said a recent study showed that even a moderate weight loss in a dog will have significant impact on how lame they are.
3. Injury/infection
An injury to a joint, such as cruciate ligament rupture, will predispose a dog to developing arthritis in that joint. This can happen regardless of whether the dog has surgery for that condition or not.
Arthritis in young dogs
It is well known that the leading cause of osteoarthritis in dogs is developmental joint disease, such as hip dysplasia, elbow developmental disease, patellar luxation and osteochondrosis, which develop as the dog’s body grows into their adult structure. These conditions cause joint incongruity (which means the bones that come together to form a joint are not a perfect fit) or create unstable joints that move inappropriately. This results in focal areas of the joint surface being “overloaded” which leads to damage and inflammation. As soon as there is damage and inflammation the joint is osteoarthritic, which may happen as early as a few months of age.
How hydrotherapy can help:
The underwater treadmill provides low impact exercise. The properties of water help to reduce weight going through the joints, making movement more comfortable for the animal and increasing range of movement. The warmth of the water helps to increase blood flow, relax the muscles and reduce stiffness. The resistance of water will help increase muscle strength.
Good management and careful monitoring of the condition in order to control the pain and slow disease progression to give our dogs long and comfortable lives.
Other complementary therapies that can form a multimodel team to help:
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Physiotherapy
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Laser Therapy
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Acupuncture
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Chripractic
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Osteopathy
Please check out https://caninearthritis.co.uk/ who have so much information and resources on managing canine arthritis