Care & Management of Joint Problems in Dogs

Care & Management of Joint Problems in Dogs

Dr Rakesh Singh

Veterinary surgeon.Motihari

 

Arthritis is inflammation within a joint, typically resulting in pain, stiffness and reduced mobility over time. The most common type is osteoarthritis (OA), a thinning and eventual deterioration of the protective tissues between the joints.

In a healthy joint, cartilage and other tissues act as shock absorbers that help with smooth movement and flexibility. As OA degrades these shock absorbers, joint tissues become damaged and release substances that cause painful inflammation. When cartilage breaks down, friction develops between the bones. OA most commonly affects a dog’s hips, elbows, knee joints (stifles) and lower back.

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis, also referred to as Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), is a progressively worsening inflammation of the joint caused by the deterioration of cartilage. In a healthy joint, cartilage acts as a cushion to allow the joint to move smoothly through its full range of motion. In cases of osteoarthritis, this cartilage cushion begins to break down because of factors such as age, injury, repetitive stress, or disease. The loss of this protective cushion results in pain, inflammation, decreased range of motion, and the development of bone spurs. While any joint in the body can develop osteoarthritis, the condition most commonly affects the limbs and lower spine.

Risk Factors for Osteoarthritis in Dogs

Any dog can develop osteoarthritis, particularly as they age. But there are some factors that can predispose your dog to this condition, such as:

• Large or giant breeds, such as German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers
• Obesity
• Age, particularly middle-age to senior dogs
• Repetitive stress from athletic activities such as agility, flyball, or diving
• Injuries such as fractures or ligament tears
• Prior diagnosis of hip or elbow dysplasia
• Infections that affect the joints, such as Lyme Disease
• Improper nutrition
• Poor conformation
• Genetics

If your dog is predisposed to developing osteoarthritis, it is especially important to stay up-to-date with regular wellness visits to your veterinarian. They can help ensure your dog maintains a healthy weight and active lifestyle, and can often catch signs of osteoarthritis early before the problem becomes serious.

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Signs of Osteoarthritis in Dogs

Osteoarthritis can be difficult to detect in its early stages, and often the symptoms do not become apparent until the affected joint is badly damaged. Some dogs can also be very stoic and will hide their pain until it becomes severe. Thus, it is important to monitor middle-aged to senior dogs and those predisposed to osteoarthritis for early signs of joint disease. These signs include:

• Stiffness, lameness, limping, or difficulty getting up
• Lethargy
• Reluctance to run, jump, or play
• Weight gain
• Irritability or changes in behavior
• Pain when petted or touched
• Difficulty posturing to urinate or defecate, or having accidents in the house
• Loss of muscle mass over the limbs and spine

If you suspect your dog may be exhibiting signs of osteoarthritis, it is important to have your dog evaluated by a veterinarian, who will perform a full physical examination, including palpating your dog’s joints and assessing their range of motion. Your veterinarian may also recommend X-rays of the affected joints, which will help rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms. X-rays can also help your veterinarian evaluate the degree of damage to the joint.

How Is Chronic Joint Pain In Dogs Diagnosed?

To determine whether your dog has joint pain due to osteoarthritis, your veterinarian may use diagnostics such as:

• Physical exam, to check for localized pain and swelling
• Radiographs, to look for abnormalities
• Gait evaluation and limb manipulation, to assess mobility
• Joint-fluid analysis, to rule out other causes

Observation of your dog at home is another powerful diagnostic tool. Unless they’re experiencing acute, sharp pain, dogs rarely vocalize, so it’s important to monitor their habits and behavior. The symptoms of arthritis related joint pain in dogs can be subtle in the early stages.

Be on the lookout for these signs in your dog.

• Decreased energy levels/sleeping more
• Reduced interest in physical activity
• Negative reactions to being petted or touched in specific areas
• Difficulty lying down or getting up
• Reluctance to climb stairs, jump on furniture or jump into the car
• Soiling accidents in the house
• Increased panting or drooling (may indicate stress or pain)
• General irritability (chronic pain)
• Lameness/limping
• Vocalizing with certain movements

 

Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Unfortunately, osteoarthritis is a progressive disease and there is no known cure. Preventing the development of osteoarthritis through diet, exercise, and the use of protective joint supplements is the best way to keep your dog’s joints healthy. When osteoarthritis develops, treatment is typically focused on controlling pain, decreasing inflammation, improving quality of life, and slowing the development of the disease. Treatment of osteoarthritis is usually multimodal, meaning that several different therapies are used simultaneously in order to achieve the best outcome.

Joint Supplements

These are often prescribed to improve function, reduce inflammation, and slow the progression of joint damage. Glucosamine and chondroitin are two common joint supplement ingredients that are used in both humans and dogs. These supplements work by reducing inflammation, promoting healing, and increasing water retention in the cartilage, which provides more cushioning for the joint. Green-lipped mussel (GLM) is another proven joint supplement ingredient for both humans and dogs and contains beneficial nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, glycosaminoglycans, and antioxidants. GLM is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can help decrease pain and preserve joint function. Joint supplements like Glyde Mobility Chews are often used as an early intervention and throughout the progression of osteoarthritis because they are safe for long-term use in most patients.

NSAIDs

In addition to the use of joint supplements, pain control is a mainstay of osteoarthritis treatment. The most commonly used pain control medications for more severe osteoarthritis are Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs can not only reduce pain, but also decrease inflammation in the joints. However, NSAIDs have significant side effects with continued use, particularly in patients with poor liver or kidney function. Your veterinarian will discuss the risks and benefits of NSAID therapy for your dog, and may recommend regular blood work in order to monitor your dog’s health during NSAID therapy.

 

Additional Treatments

Your veterinarian may also recommend other treatment modalities such as physiotherapy, acupuncture, cold laser, and changes in diet. In severe cases, they may recommend surgery to remove damaged tissue from the joint, or even to replace the joint entirely.

Weight Management

No matter what your dog’s joint health looks like, it is important to maintain a healthy weight and active lifestyle. In dogs with osteoarthritis, carrying excess weight on damaged joints is not only painful but can also speed up the process of cartilage breakdown. In healthy dogs, obesity can predispose them to earlier development of osteoarthritis, as well as many other diseases. If your dog is overweight or obese, your veterinarian is your best resource to help you begin a diet and exercise plan to improve your dog’s health.

Osteoarthritis is a painful condition, but fortunately, it can be managed. Maintaining your dog at a healthy weight and identifying signs of joint pain early are the first steps to maintaining your dog’s mobility. Joint supplements may also help manage inflammation and pain, as well as slow the progression of the disease.

 

Signs of Joint Problems in Dogs

How do you know if your dog is in pain? Any and all of the following can be signs of chronic discomfort due to joint pain:

• Increased irritability
• Lagging behind on walks
• Slower to get up in the morning
• Stiffness, limping or “slowing down”
• Sleeping more
• Not enjoying games and walks like he used to
• Reluctance to jump into the car or go up or down stairs
• Excessive licking of a sore joint
• Swollen joints
• Muscle loss
• Yelping when touched
• “Bunny-hopping” when running

Causes of Joint Pain in Dogs

Typically, joint problems in dogs fall into two major categories: developmental and degenerative. Developmental occurs when the joint or ligament does not develop correctly causing it to not function as intended. Degenerative, on the other hand, causes the ligaments around your dog’s joints to “degenerate” (or regress) over time. Similar to human’s, your dogs joints need to be properly cared for (proper nutrition, stretching, proper exercise, etc.,) or they can start to breakdown and cause discomfort for your dog. There are 7 other diseases that can affect your dog’s joints:

• Ligament, tendon or muscle diseases that can tear or rupture over time
• Fractures at the joint
• Congenital (present from birth) disorders like Wobbler’s syndromeor a luxated patella
• Dietary or hormonal disease
• Metabolic disorders
• Cancer
• Inflammatory joint disease such as Lyme disease or rheumatoid arthritis

 

FAQ ON JOINT PROBLEMS IN DOGS

Q: What causes osteoarthritis or joint problems in dogs?

A: The two major categories of joint problems are developmental and degenerative problems. With developmental problems, you have things like hip or elbow dysplasia, where the joint does not develop correctly in a number of different ways.

Degenerative problems cover a number of areas. But the most common, and the most common cause of arthritis in dogs, is cruciate ligament problems, where the ligament is degenerating over time and causing instability and secondary osteoarthritis.

 

Q: What are the signs of joint problems?

A: Most of the time, people notice that their dogs are doing less or having more difficulty with common activities. The dog now has problems getting up on the couch, or going up the stairs, or getting in the back of the SUV. With more athletic dogs, maybe they can’t run as long with their owner, or they don’t want to play as long at the dog park.

From there it progresses to overt lameness — holding the limb up, or holding the limb funny. Those are the most common things we see. Rarely do we see overt pain as the first complaint. Usually it’s a slower process.

 

Q: Are some breeds more prone to joint injuries?

A: In general, increased size and weight is always a predisposer of joint problems. So the poster children for both developmental and degenerative problems are going to be the bigger dogs.

But for certain things, there are very breed-specific problems. Newfoundlands have the highest prevalence of cruciate ligament disease of all breeds. Rottweilers have more knee and ankle problems. Bernese Mountain dogs commonly get elbow dysplasia.

Q: What are the common treatments for osteoarthritis or joint problems?

A: It varies. We typically divide it into surgical and non-operative treatments. Surgical treatments can range from arthroscopic cleaning of a joint all the way up to total joint replacement.

On the non-surgical side, we look at several things. First and foremost, and the one that has the most effect on the non-surgical side, is weight management and body condition. We’re trying to get the dogs to an ideal weight so we decrease the stresses on the joints. We also actually decrease the inflammation because fat is a source of inflammation in the joints.

With body condition, we’re trying to get the dogs’ strength built up. That’s because the muscle mass and muscle function will help protect the joints and help the overall function as well.

Then there are various types of medications, foods, and food additives. For drugs, there are anti-inflammatories, analgesics, and pain relievers.

In foods, we now have companies making quality foods that are formulated for joint health. They already have some of the additives in there, like fish oils, which help decrease inflammation, and glucosamine/chondroitin.

 

Q: Is surgery always required, or are there other ways to treat joint injuries?

A: Physical therapy — professional, scientifically based programs with a rehabilitationist — is really exploding with dogs. Most academic centers and a lot of your big private practices will have certified rehabilitationists in their practices now. The therapy can include underwater treadmills, ultrasound therapy, and electric stimulation. All the stuff we think about with human PT, they’re applying to horses and dogs as well.

Q: Should I limit my dog’s activity if they have joint problems?

A: I would limit it until you get a good diagnosis and a plan with your veterinarian. If there’s a problem that causes instability, you can do a lot more harm to the joints. But in the long run, we want to get activity back. So we have to figure out if we need surgery to do that or if it can be done with non-surgical methods.

 

Q: What can I do to help prevent joint injuries in my dog?

A: If you’re buying a puppy, especially if you’re buying a purebred puppy, check out the health problems in that breed, and check out that specific dog’s lineage. Most of these things have some hereditary component. A good breeder will have all that information. Many will volunteer it. But you certainly have the right to ask. And you should ask, especially if you’re interested in one of the larger breeds that are already associated with joint problems.

And if you don’t care about breed, buy a mutt. With a mutt, you’re going to have the best chance of not having those kinds of joint problems. The genetic diversity really seems to limit orthopedic problems overall.

The next step is keeping your dog at the right weight and in good body condition throughout its life. Good food, exercise, and keeping them lean and in good condition are key with any dog.

Have your veterinarian evaluate your dog’s joints at least every year to see what’s going on. A lot of these things we can prevent from becoming a big problem if we catch it early enough. We can work on strengthening the body and avoid surgery altogether.

 

Q: Are there any vitamins or additives I can give my dog to help with joint problems?

A: Yes. But you really want to consult with your veterinarian so you’re sure you’re spending your money on the right things. Studies have shown that some of the additives, like glucosamine/chondroitin, help when there’s arthritis present. It’s not a preventative; it’s not going to cure the joint. But it’s a good supplement when used with other parts of the non-surgical management or the post-operative management. It can slow down the progression of osteoarthritis.

Then there are things like fish oils, which actually are anti-inflammatory and generally have fewer side effects than medications. But only use those additives that have some science, some evidence behind them, showing that they work.

Treating Chronic Join Pain At Home

At this point, there’s no cure for joint pain due to osteoarthritis, but there are an increasing number of options that can help your dog with pain; increase mobility; and, in some cases, slow the degeneration of joint cartilage. A multi-modal treatment plan that includes a combination of medicine, supportive care and home remedies has been shown to be the most successful.

Consult with your veterinarian before introducing these into your dog’s treatment plan. Your vet can help you determine the most appropriate strategies for weight loss as well as other therapies.

• Maintaining a healthy weight is an essential component to managing osteoarthritis joint pain in dogs. Obese dogs are more likely to develop arthritis because excess weight puts more pressure on joints, leading to increased stress. It’s important to discuss your dog’s weight with your veterinarian and create a weight-loss plan if needed.
• CBD(cannabidiol, a cannabinoid derivative) is believed to reduce both pain and anxiety, and many pet owners are trying it for the treatment of canine joint pain. It is thought to be safe in combination with other medications, though it is partially metabolized by the same metabolic pathway as NSAIDs, so monitoring for possible side effects is advised.
• At-home activities depend on the dog and the severity of her joint pain, but a 10-minute walk two or three times a day rather than one long walk is a good rule of thumb. Because excitement and activity release endorphins and adrenaline, dogs may feel less pain when exercising, allowing them to overdo.
• You can also gently massage your dog’s sore spots to increase blood flow, and apply alternating cold and heat to the affected areas.
• Spending leisure time with your dog outdoors is also good medicine. Sunlight stimulates the body to produce vitamin D, which supports the immune system, reduces inflammation, strengthens joints and aids in calcium absorption. Enjoying some fresh air will also help your dog’s mood if pain has her feeling down.
• Joint supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM and others are referred to as nutraceuticals. They can be very helpful in reducing joint discomfort and may also allow reductions in the dosage and frequency of pharmaceutical drugs when used in combination.

 

Best Supplements For Chronic Joint Pain

A list of nutraceuticals for dogs, many products contain combinations of supplements on this list.
• Glucosamine
• Chondroitin sulfate
• Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)
• MSM (methylsulfonylmethane)
• Green-lipped mussel
• SOD (superoxide dismutase)
• Fortetropin (fertilized chicken egg yolk powder)
• ASU (avocado/soybean unsaponifiables, available as Dasuquin)
• Turmeric
• Sea cucumber

How Can I Help My Arthritic Dog Live More Comfortably With Chronic Joint Pain?

Try these changes in your dog’s home to make living with arthritis easier:

• Use portable ramps or steps for places your dog can no longer jump to.
• Provide thick bedding, such as memory foam or an orthopedic pad. Heated dog beds or dog-specific heating padscan also help with joint pain (the temperature should be warm but not hot to the touch). Make sure your dog’s bed is large enough for her to stretch out if she needs to relieve pressure on sore joints.
• To help your dog walk without slipping on uncarpeted floors, make a path with non-skid rugs or yoga mats (use individual extra-long mats, or look for 100-foot rolls of yoga mat material, available online). Keep her nails and any excess fur around her paw pads trimmed.
• Raise food and water bowls off the floor so your dog doesn’t have to bend or strain at mealtime.

• Use a lifting harness or support sling if your dog needs help getting up or has other mobility issues.

Non-Medical Support

• Acupunctureis increasingly popular for treating canine joint pain and can be beneficial for some dogs.
• Physical therapyis essential to fighting the effects of osteoarthritis in dogs. Low-impact exercise strengthens the muscles around joints, helps keep joints mobile and reduces pain from stiffness. Some larger vet hospitals now provide a variety of physical-therapy options such as ultrasound, shock wave and targeted Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (tPEMF) therapies, electrical stimulation, range-of-motion stretching, and cold-laser treatments.
• Hydrotherapy(swimming in a warm-water pool or using an underwater treadmill) is a great low-impact exercise that improves muscle mass without overstressing joints. Swimming in cold water, however, can be counterproductive, causing both joints and muscles to stiffen up.

Although there is no cure for canine arthritis, there are steps you can take to mitigate the effects of chronic joint pain at home. By combining multiple elements of treatment and support, including pain control, weight management and low-impact exercise, you can help your arthritic dog enjoy her golden years.