canine osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects cartilage. It is often a consequence of aging, but it can also be caused by a joint abnormality such as hip dysplasia, or by trauma causing a fracture.
Osteoarthritis cannot be cured but we can slow down its progression and alleviate the pain it causes our dog. Veterinarians usually prescribe two types of treatments that only act on pain: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids. Physiotherapy is a good complementary treatment because it favors cartilage regeneration and gives good results in dogs with osteoarthritis.
In this article on our site.com we are going to explain what is physiotherapy for dogs with osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis and its consequences
Osteoarthritis is joint degeneration and one of the most obvious effects of aging in our dogs. One of the first symptoms that this disease presents is that our dog moves less, a symptom ignored by many owners who believe that it is something normal, a loss of physical condition caused by age.
Then, more specific symptoms of osteoarthritis appear: our dog, who used to follow us everywhere, now refuses to get in or out of the car, the sofa or stands in front of the stairs. You may also find it difficult to get up after lying down for a long time, and may even limp after exercise or permanently. Acute osteoarthritis crises with very intense pain can occur, and it is generally in this advanced stage that we become aware of the problem and consult our veterinarian.
Osteoarthritis produces a decreased activity in our dog, which has the following consequences:
- Consequences on muscles: amyotrophy occurs, which is the loss of muscle mass due to decreased physical activity. Fibrosis also usually appears, which happens when the connective tissue invades the joints, and it is common for our dog to suffer from pain and muscle contractures that generally affect the muscles of the cervical area and the back in older dogs.
- Consequences on collagen and tendons: they progressively lose their structural and mechanical qualities.
- Consequences on the joints: there is a decrease in the synthesis of proteoglycans, loss of bone under the cartilage due to demineralization, erosion of the cartilage, appearance of osteophytes which are abnormal growths of bone that damage the joint, or erosion of the cartilage. As a consequence, there is a decrease in joint flexibility, giving rise to ankylosis, that is, movements are increasingly reduced and the joint remains closed and locked in one position, which decreases its vascularization and worsens its degeneration.
- Consequences on the bones: we observed a decrease in bone synthesis and an increase in bone resorption, with which the bones become more and more brittle.
- Vascular consequences: the blood capillaries, which are small blood vessels that nourish the bone and the joint, decrease, the return of venous blood to the heart also decreases (venous stasis) and lymphatic drainage is reduced (lymphatic stasis).
- Consequences on the nervous system: the nervous system is less and less stimulated, this hypo-stimulation can cause cell inhibition and partial paralysis (paresis) of the muscles, or even complete paralysis in the long term.
- Weight gain: all this further increases the decrease in physical activity, which leads to weight gain, which worsens the medical directory.
Physiotherapy techniques for a dog with osteoarthritis
Physiotherapy is the set of curative or preventive treatments that are based on the action of water, movements, thermal agents (cold and heat), electricity, sound waves and the light. Most of the techniques that are applied to humans have been adapted to animals that have been benefiting for some years from very advanced techniques.
There is no single type of treatment for a dog with osteoarthritis, each case is different and only a veterinarian trained in functional re-education will be able to determine, after examining our dog, which physiotherapeutic exercises are suitable for him.
Depending on the dog, physical therapy techniques may involve:
- Cryotherapy: the use of cold against pain and inflammation.
- Thermotherapy: the use of heat and its analgesic properties and also as preparation for exercise.
- Hydrotherapy: the decrease in the weight of the animal on its joints thanks to buoyancy in the water and the massaging effect of the water favors the Exercise improves muscle strength and heart activity. Thus, if our veterinarian has a treadmill submerged in water, he can walk or swim our dog in water without trauma. Physical exercise in the water reduces pain and ankylosis, it also limits muscle loss.
- Massages: they can have a stimulating or relaxing effect depending on the type of massage, they cause heat in the area and increase blood circulation and tissue drainage. In addition, if the veterinary clinic is far from the dog's home, our veterinarian can teach us massage techniques to apply ourselves this physiotherapy technique to our dog with osteoarthritis in short sessions at home.
- Kinesitherapy: the veterinarian gently manipulates the dog's joints through stretching techniques, passive therapeutic exercises or active mechanotherapy exercises with balls, plates, trampoline, or also with proprioception exercises.
- Electrotherapy: it can be used to combat pain (analgesic effect) or to increase muscle mass.
- Ultrasonography: the use of ultrasound has massaging, heating and analgesic effects in deep tissue areas.
- Laser: it has a powerful analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oedematous effect.
- Shock waves: they have a defibrosing effect on tissues.
It is important that all the techniques that we apply to our dog at home under the advice of our veterinarian are atraumatic and painless Yes our dog suffers from osteoarthritis, jumps, intense efforts, running on hard floors, going up and down stairs are not recommended. On the contrary, we prefer short walks and, especially for those who can, allow our dog to swim in water, since this is an excellent way to practice natural and gentle physiotherapy that strengthens the muscles and joints of our companion.
Benefits of physiotherapy
If our dog suffers from osteoarthritis, physiotherapy is a good option to help him fight against this degenerative disease. With proper care, physiotherapy allows:
- Decrease pain, and sometimes decrease medication intake
- Keep or even regain joint flexibility
- Maintain or regain muscle mass
- Stimulate the nervous system and tissue vascularization
- Keeping our dog at his ideal weight
- Improve your heart rate and fitness
The sooner we act, the more efficient the therapeutic treatmentproposed by our veterinarian will be. Indeed, the injuries caused by osteoarthritis at the bone level are irreversible, so it is best to prevent them from appearing.
As for problems secondary to osteoarthritis such as amyotrophy, ankylosis and increased body weight, physiotherapy can also help fight them, but it will take more time if we start at an early stage. advanced stage of the disease.
Physiotherapy as preventive treatment
To obtain better results and prevent the onset of diseases such as osteoarthritis, we can start practicing physiotherapy on our dog from 5 years with large breeds, and a little later for small breeds. In the case of dogs with hip dysplasia or osteoarticular problems, we must ensure regular follow-up since the pathology has been diagnosed.
It's never too lateto help our dog and physiotherapy will improve his comfort and mobility if anything
