Osteoarthritis in the dog and cat
ARTHRITIS IN DOGS AND CATS
Your dog has struggled to get out of her basket the morning ? Your cat can no longer jump on furniture ? Perhaps suffer from osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a affection of joints. It corresponds to a "wear and tear" of cartilage with changes and irregularities in the underlying os.
- The causes of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis can be primary (It typically appears with age unless a specific cause can be clearly identified) or secondary. It is then the result of trauma or diseases that the animal could suffer at the joints : genetic bone malformations (hip dysplasia or elbow, for example), cartilage lesions, tears of the ligaments, bone diseases, overweight or physical activity abusive and inappropriate to the physical condition of the animal, are factors that will induce stresses on cartilage and joint inflammation. Cartilage become damaged, the underlying os proliferate : Osteoarthritis moved.
- How to detect osteoarthritis ?
Just as we, animals can suffer ! But they do not express the pain the same way. Also, OA is not necessarily obvious to detect for one who lives with his dog every day. Indeed, outside of pain crisis periods, Chronic signs may go unnoticed.
Firstly, the animal has difficulty getting up after a rest period or after a major effort. It's obvious most often in the morning at sunrise. As and when the process moves, pain, which can result in lameness, is becoming more common, and permanent.
These steps are punctuated by very disabling seizures during which the animal may have severe pain, to the point of not being able to move. These crises are unpredictable, and contribute to deteriorate a bit more joints.
We can estimate the level of pain experienced by the animal using different criteria :
-He struggled to get up
-He limps
-It has less enthusiasm for walks
-It's hard to go up or down stairs, or climb on furniture
-It makes you less when you go partying
-He stays down longer than before
-He growls and spits when you caress
-He stiffness after exercise
If your pet meets at least 2 these criteria, we must find ways to relieve, a discussion with your veterinarian is needed to establish the diagnosis.
The diagnosis is often clinical, but radiography to confirm and estimate the extent of damage.
or osteophytes “parrot beaks”
Dysplasia and severe osteoarthritis of the hip
Osteoarthritis of the elbow (dysplasia)
- How to relieve your pet ?
Osteoarthritis can not be cured. But good management can relieve your pet, and delay the progression of joint damage.
1/ the chondroprotectors (in tablet form, or incorporated into the food)
They aim to support joint function, and fight against cellular oxidation. They are used as cures to renew several times a year, or incorporated directly to the food for daily intake. Their regular jobs can limit the use of anti-inflammatory.
Proper nutrition arthritic dog is a good way to administer cartilage protectors without needing to make him swallow tablets daily. Our team will prescribe a range of food for your companion.
2/ The anti-inflammatory treatment
They have several effects :
-ease the pain
-help the dog regain mobility
-limit the phenomena of joint inflammation that maintain and enhance lesions.
The most used drugs are anti-inflammatory drugs (or NSAIDs). They will be prescribed in the acute phase of the crisis osteoarthritis, then according to the needs of each animal. The molecules used today have a good safety, even long term, but it is recommended to do a blood test to verify the proper functioning kidney, liver,…
These treatments relieve the animal immediately, but to register an improvement in the duration, it is essential to take parallel hygienic measures:
3/ Weight control
Being overweight is an aggravating factor, because it generates additional mechanical stress on joints. Maintaining the ideal weight, or return to a lower weight through a specific system, is essential if we are to avoid the accelerated degradation of cartilage. This will in most cases be able to decrease the use of anti-inflammatory.
Our team is at your disposal to help you lose weight your pet and to answer your questions.
4/ Physical activity
Maintaining a moderate physical activity is important but steady. Lack of exercise, or conversely an excess of activity, are harmful to the dog and encourage the development of osteoarthritis. It is recommended to do short walks several times a day, rather than a long ride, and preferably on flat ground, so as not to overtax the joints to mount (butt) or down (forelimb). Avoid strenuous exercise like jumping. On the other hand, swimming is excellent because it promotes joint mobility smoothly, and without the constraint weight.
5/ Surgery
In some cases (example : Osteoarthritis of the hip joint of a dog dysplastic), medical treatments are not enough, and surgery may be possible to relieve the dog. These cases are rare, however, because most often osteoarthritis does not affect only one place.
TO KNOW: Osteoarthritis and genetics.
Some joint deformities causing arthritis are genetic: animals with these defects should not be breeding.
The best-known of these defects is "hip dysplasia" and it is recognized that this malformation has a strong hereditary component.
One screening is therefore recommended, through x-rays that can be done around the age of one year on average (l & rsquo; age of screening depends on the breed, it must check with the breed club concerned).
These x-rays have a double interest : they allow not only to eliminate the breeding animals with, but also to take, If the animal is diagnosed Dysplastic, the necessary measures to prevent the rapid onset of osteoarthritis.