The Problems Of Osteoarthritis In The Canine Species

More commonly known as osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis is a condition that occurs quite often in the canine species.

It is caused by degenerative phenomena that produce a progressive degeneration of the articular cartilage. It affects animals of any sex and breed (it is most often described in large-sized specimens), it usually begins to manifest between five and seven years of age, and worsens when they are elderly. you should read it: https://extrardp.com/

The sleeping pet

The predominant symptom is pain, initially characterized by acute episodes of short duration, which persist in the course of the evolution of the pathology, with more or less persistent inflammations, of varying intensity and duration, which tend to be increasing.

The pain, present especially when the joints are stressed, is to some extent proportional to the physical activity performed.

It tends to decrease with rest, to reappear in a more persistent way until a lasting inflammatory state is determined, which negatively affects the quality of life of our four-legged friends. It is responsible for lameness, to a greater or lesser degree, reaching incapacitating the affected limb.

Osteoarthritis in the dog

Pain can cause giving up movement, inability to do things that were previously done without problems (such as running, jumping into the car, or going up and down the steps of a ladder), as well as causing a bad mood and irritability (examples of calm temperament can reach aggressive), accelerated heart and respiratory rates (which can lead to wheezing), difficulty assuming voiding and defecation positions, sensory reduction and even decreased appetite.

Symptoms attributable to a form of osteoarthritis justify a veterinarian (better if he is an orthopedic expert), who, after careful evaluation, will resort to a radiological study (RX) to confirm the clinical suspicion.

To the radiological examination, in the last decade, computerized axial tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been added. These are two procedures, now very common, that complement and integrate with the previous one, becoming part of the branch of medicine known as diagnostic imaging.

The XR, CT and MRI require sedation of the animal, precisely necessary to obtain high quality images and leave no room for doubt.

TWO TYPES OF PAIN

In dogs, pain can be adaptive (acute) or maladaptive (chronic). The first can be physiological (an alarm signal, which serves as a protection system to minimize tissue damage) or inflammatory, leading to damage of some importance and the inflammation from which it derives.

The second is persistent pain, due to the persistence of a pathological cause responsible for the continuous stimulation of nerve cells (not ciceptors), which detect harmful signals: stimuli such as those that cause osteoarthritis determine the sensitization of the nervous system.

THE TREATMENTS

In most cases, the treatment of osteoarthritis is pharmacological, and consists of the prolonged administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (so-called NSAIDs), in order to minimize the effects of self-amplification mediated by the nervous system.

Among these steroids, the recent availability in Spain of mavacoxib must be taken into account , an active principle for canine use whose advantage is the monthly mono-administration, which makes it easy to use for the family, especially if the animal is not shows collaborator in taking oral medications.

Dogs with great osteoarthritis

It should be noted that anti-inflammatory therapy is always useful in association with a diet that is designed to prevent the animal from gaining weight, which would have a negative impact on its disease.

The alternative to the classical treatment is constituted by unconventional medicine (homeopathy, homo toxicology, acupuncture, mesotherapy, laser therapy) instead of the administration of so-called nutraceuticals, natural integrating substances with a natural chondroprotective or anti-inflammatory action. Only in special cases do they need surgical intervention.

IF THE ARTHROSIS HAS A CAUSE

Canine osteoarthritis often depends on the evolution of a problem (which may not be serious) already present at birth or in the first months of life.

The typical case is represented by hip dysplasia, which, as is known, affects large and giant dogs; not to mention knee and elbow dysplasia, as well as osteochondritis dissecantes (OCD) and aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, all juvenile orthopedic conditions that, over time, almost inevitably lead to arthritic phenomena.

Dogs with dysplasia problems

Some of the pathologies necessarily require surgical intervention. Others surely have a genetic basis and, therefore, are typical of certain breeds; and there are others that do not really know why they happen.

In any case, it is important that the puppies are monitored during the growth period, eventually subjecting them, under the supervision of the veterinarian, to specific radiological studies, very useful to reveal early anomalies that, otherwise, would be difficult to detect.

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