Symptoms to detect osteoarthritis in dogs that you should know

Just as it happens to humans when they get older, osteoarthritis can also occur in dogs. With age, your joints begin to suffer from the passage of time and age. And their wear and tear can lead to osteoarthritis.

This condition, like humans, appears in dogs due to the wear and tear of cartilage. It is a degenerative disease, and the wear and tear of the cartilage can become so severe that the bones it separates begin to rub against each other.

Osteoarthritis in dogs usually affects mainly joints such as the elbow, hip, knee, spine, etc. They can be mild and not cause too much discomfort to the animal. Or be so severe that the dog suffers pain and cannot move comfortably. Luckily, osteoarthritis in dogs presents various symptoms. If they are detected in time, the animal can be taken to the veterinarian and treated to alleviate its symptoms and stop its progression. In addition, joint supports or protectors can also be used to strengthen the affected joints. This way you can have a better quality of life.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis in dogs

Osteoarthritis has no specific known cause. In some cases it can be caused by a joint problem that causes a problem in the joint. For example, hip dysplasia. It can also be accentuated by excess weight, due to the extra load it must bear. Or some medical treatments.

In any case, the symptoms you present will always be the same. Of course, they depend on which leg or hip of the dog is affected. But the one that is common to all of them is that, suddenly, the dog seems less active and moves less. Of running already, we don’t even talk. In addition, it may even begin to limp slightly.

It is important to observe if this limp is more pronounced when you get up after sitting for a while. Or lying down. And also if you limp more when it’s colder. This is because, like humans, low temperatures are not good for osteoarthritis in dogs.

In addition to these symptoms, it is also necessary to observe if, although the dog does not limp, it has difficulty climbing the stairs. You may also have joint pains, although this is more complicated to detect. If it is a lot, it usually resists walking. When it occurs in the front legs and the animal knows how to give the paw, it can be a method to know if it has pains. If you don’t want to kick up, your joint may hurt.

The dog may also suffer from some loss of tone and muscle mass. And you may even have a lack of appetite, or appear lethargic at times. If the osteoarthritis you have is quite advanced, your postures may become more forced. They will be due to the stiffness of the affected limb.

Another symptom of osteoarthritis in dogs can be inflammation of the affected paw. This will be caused by friction between the bones, which will affect the nearby muscles, which will suffer the consequences.

If you notice that your dog has one or more of these symptoms for a few days, it is advisable to take him to the veterinarian. This way you can examine it and diagnose if you suffer from osteoarthritis or any other milder ailment.

23/05/2018/0 Comments/by Ortopedia canina

Osteoarthritis in dogs: the most appropriate treatments to relieve it

Animal welfare, Pathologies, Treatments

Dogs can also suffer from osteoarthritis as they get older. Just like humans. This disease, caused by wear and tear on the cartilage of the limbs of animals, causes them a lot of suffering. Luckily, osteoarthritis in dogs can be treated.

Thus, among its symptoms are pains, lameness of the affected limb or stiffness. Also difficulty moving and climbing stairs. And even experience a loss of mass in the muscles, and an abnormal decrease in your appetite.

Obviously, the sooner the symptoms of osteoarthritis are detected in a dog, the sooner the most appropriate treatment can be applied. As we will see below, it will be different depending on its severity.

Treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs

The first thing to do before a dog affected by osteoarthritis is several changes in its routine. All with the aim of getting the animal to have the least problems and the greatest possible autonomy. For example, if you regularly rest in a house with several floors, change your sleeping cushion to a plant where you do not have to climb stairs.

It will also be necessary to inevitably follow the instructions of the veterinarian. He will probably suggest giving the dog a treatment based on anti-inflammatories. In addition, it is likely to suggest that the animal take a compound with vitamins and minerals, in addition to collagen. With this type of compounds, what the veterinarian intends is that the cartilage stops its wear. Also prevent it from deforming.

However, we must not ignore the fact that osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease. It is necessary to avoid as much as possible that the animal has pains, for which other measures can be taken. Among them, monitor your weight and prevent you from gaining excess weight. You also have to make sure that there are many fatty acids in your diet. This favors the elasticity of the joints.

You also have to make sure that the dog does light exercise. Of course, adapted to your possibilities. For example, try to take walks, but prevent it from running. On the other hand, since extreme temperatures are not suitable for osteoarthritis, you have to protect yourself from them. Thus, it is necessary to avoid exposing it to both extreme cold and excessive heat.

In very severe cases of osteoarthritis, dogs may need to replace their affected joints with prostheses. Exactly the same as what happens in older people with age-related degenerative diseases. But that is only appropriate if the situation is already very serious. Or if the veterinarian so advises. Meanwhile, they can be helped with palliative treatments. Or with protectors that provide stability.

Protectors for limbs affected by osteoarthritis

In case osteoarthritis causes enough discomfort to the dog, it is advisable to protect the limbs that are affected. For this, protectors suitable for both the animal and the disease can be used.

For example, knee protectors for dogs. Or, if the animal is already very old and suffers from advanced hip osteoarthritis, a wheelchair can help it maintain mobility. Even a suitable harness, with which dogs with mobility problems in the hind legs can achieve more stability.

16/05/2018/0 Comments/by Ortopedia canina

How do I know if my dog is in pain?

Animal welfare, Curiosities, Pathologies

Luckily or unfortunately dogs don’t talk, so sometimes it can be hard to tell if they’re in pain. Fortunately, the dog’s response to pain is very similar to what we give. Depending on its level of tolerance to it, its intensity and its origin, we will observe changes in behavior that seek to avoid it. These avoidant behaviors will be more or less marked, so it is important to know well what the normal behavior of the dog in question is to realize the changes.

These changes can manifest themselves in the form of general behavioral alterations ranging from depression/apathy of the animal, through loss of appetite and abnormal panting, to situations of social avoidance or even aggressiveness, especially when the pain becomes more intense when touching the area causing said pain.

In more concrete terms, postural or movement alterations can be observed: the dog avoids performing those movements and postures that intensify the pain. A simple example is not to support that leg that is injured. There can also be an excessive grooming behavior of the painful area, which can bring more serious situations, such as when a small lesion on the skin is complicated in licking dermatitis, although the pain is a physiological response of protection whose function is to avoid the aggravation of an injury.

Those abnormal postures that the dog adopts to avoid feeling pain or to decrease its intensity are called analgesic postures. An example of these is the slouching that can be observed in the face of abdominal pain. With this posture the animal seeks to reduce the tension exerted by the walls of the abdomen on the organs of the cavity, which is where the pain has its origin.

Sometimes realizing the problem is not so simple, because the tolerance that the specific dog has to pain varies from one animal to another. Also, as with people, pain is difficult to quantify objectively. Even the situation occurs that pain can confuse us about the origin of it, because pain is a nervous mechanism that can originate from a localized physical injury, but it can also originate in the nervous system without having an apparent injury in the painful area. An example of this situation is the pain that is observed in a pinching in the spine: the pain does not manifest itself more intensely in the place where the injury is, but refers to the areas that are innervated by the affected nerves.

It also happens that the pain feels different depending on the affected tissue. It is easy to locate the exact place of injury in the case of muscle or skeletal pain, but not when the problem is of an internal organ: a thorn stuck in a finger is easy to find, but to know the cause of abdominal pain, the perception of which is more diffuse, it is advisable to carry out more detailed explorations, even with more informative diagnostic techniques such as an ultrasound or an X-ray.

What is really important is to realize as soon as possible the existence of pain, both to treat the problem that originates it as soon as possible and to take measures to reduce its intensity. Since pain, although a physiological response to protect the body from the complication of injuries, has been shown to delay recovery from injury. It is for this reason that treatments against pain are used even before it appears in surgical interventions. In this way it has been possible to shorten the recovery time of the dog, in addition to significantly improving its well-being.

In addition, it has been seen that if the pain is not treated it can become chronic and require lifelong medication, since the nerves are “sensitized”, even when the cause of that pain has already been resolved.

www.Ortocanis.com Veterinary Team

26/02/2015/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

The importance of rehabilitation in dogs

injuries, Pathologies, Treatments, vet

Increasingly, physiotherapy and rehabilitation are being established as one of the basic pillars in veterinary traumatology and neurology.

While good diagnosis and surgical or pharmacological treatment are critical, rehabilitation can really make all the difference.

The structures of the musculoskeletal system are closely related to each other. The inactivity or poor function of one severely affects the others.

Let’s take a frequent example: hip dysplasia. This is an incongruity of the hip joint, in which bone, cartilage, joint capsule, synovial fluid and ligaments are affected.

The moment the dog feels pain, it lowers its activity drastically. This causes a loss of muscle mass around the joint. As a result, the joint will be less “embraced” by the muscles, increasingly weak and with less force. Then the joint will be more unstable, causing more osteoarthritis (which in turn will increase the pain, which will further lower the activity of the animal). As you can see, it is a vicious circle from which it seems very difficult to escape. The key is to re-exercise those muscles. A possible solution is the use of a wheelchair: these support most of the weight of the animal, but allowing it to exercise the hind limbs. For very advanced cases in which the animal can no longer move the limbs, there is the option of electrotherapy, which will allow us to make passive movements of the muscles. There are even electrotherapy terminals for home use.

When our dog has a musculoskeletal or nervous problem, it is very important that we ask the veterinarian what is the appropriate activity at each stage of the disease.

Here we leave you with a video where the importance (and the wonderful consequences) of a gentle and constant rehabilitation is demonstrated:

05/09/2014/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

What is the best bed for your dog?

Pathologies, Treatments, vet

Like humans, dogs need a comfortable place to rest and relax. Choosing the most suitable type of bed for your dog can be a heavy job due to the variety of models, but if in addition to a comfortable bed you want to consider the right one for his personality and health, either by age or disease, how does one to select the perfect bed?

Choosing the dog’s bed is much easier if you have the following points in mind:

1 – Keep in mind your dog’s tastes.

Notice how your dog likes to sleep. If it is covered under a pile of blankets and pillows, a sack bed style would be very suitable, allowing you to get inside and be between two layers. A dog that enjoys sleeping in the corner of a sofa, or a chair will appreciate a three-sided bed, allows it to lean on the corner, keeping its back and butt warm in contact with the surface. If your dog stretches out and stretches while sleeping, a fluffy, flat bed like a mattress is perfect for him to enjoy space and comfort.

2 – Choose a bed with a removable and washable cover.

Keep in mind that the cover is made of a resistant material, some dogs are prone to scratch the cover so we will choose a material that does not tear easily and that protects the inner filling. It is essential that this cover is easy to remove and you can put it in the washing machine for greater comfort and hygiene.

3 – Consider your dog’s age, health and behavior.

For puppies and dogs with a tendency to bite everything, beds or blankets should never be used with easy access to any type of filling. It is common for them to bite the inside and this can cause intestinal obstruction if ingested. Older, sick dogs, and giant breed dogs require extra support, and can benefit greatly from orthopedic beds, anti-bedsore mattresses , and thermal mattresses . If you have a disease such as arthritis or osteoarthritis and therefore spend much of the time lying down, it is very important a strong and resistant filler adaptable to your body, which protects the skin and prevents the appearance of bedsores. In this sense, the best is an antibacterial and water repellent cover in convination with a chopped viscoelastic filling, which allows the passage of air and is thermo-adjustable, allowing a perfect adaptation and avoiding pressure points. Giant breeds often have a hard time staying cool during the hot months, thermoregulable mattresses on the market can provide you with refreshing relief during the summer months.

4 – How you need the bed to be.

Are you going to place the bed in a box? a rectangular bed that fits the box is necessary, some dogs prefer beds reinforced with boxes, others are uncomfortable or difficult to access. Are you going to use the bed for camping or in the yard? If so, you are interested in the bed being waterproof and suitable for outdoors. Permeability is a very important feature to consider. If, for example, your dog drools a lot or is prone to urinating while sleeping, you’ll need to choose a bed with a washable, liquid-repellent cover. There are also new orthopedic beds made with antibacterial fabric that prevent bad odors.

5 – Ecological materials.

There is a wide variety of eco-friendly dog beds on the market, created with fabrics made from organic and recycled materials. The dog and the planet will thank you.

6 – Last but not least, the budget.

Bed prices can range from less than 20 € to hundreds of euros. Depending on the needs, the qualities of the covers and fillers and the possibilities of each owner. Beds with covers of intelligent fabrics (water repellent, antibacterial, antiallergic) and memory foam or chopped viscoelastic fillers are a good option for dogs with joint problems but have a somewhat higher price.

12/05/2014/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

Orthopedic aids for dogs

injuries, most commented, Pathologies, Treatments, vet

New technical and orthopedic aids for dogs are used in a wide variety of cases. These increase the mobility of dogs by providing the necessary support to maintain daily activity. Dogs need to exercise to maintain their physical and emotional well-being. If a dog is unable to exercise, it can develop problems such as heart disease, obesity, bone alterations, muscle atrophy, and emotional problems such as aggression or anxiety.

Applicable cases

Technical aids can be used for sprains, muscle weakness, arthritis, hip dysplasia, post-operative rehabilitation, lameness, weakness or pain in the joints that end up generating a mobility problem. The technical aids should allow the dog to perform its daily activities, but they should also be comfortable and offer protection against irritations and ulcers on the dog’s skin so it is important that they are performed by specialists. We list the most frequent:

Knee

Knee protectors are typically used after surgery for rehabilitation of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), patella dislocation, medial collateral ligament (MCL), lateral collateral ligament (LCL), or posterior cruciate ligaments (PCL). Knee pads provide support and stability, prevent muscle loss during the recovery period, and reduce the risk of further injury. Knee protectors are also often used in cases where surgery is not performed.

Tarsus and Carpus

Tarsal protectors are indicated in cases of osteoarthritis but also for post-surgical rehabilitation or injury to the Achilles tendon, nerve damage to the hind limb or foot and rehabilitation of the hock joint. They can also be used as long-term support in non-surgical conditions. A tarsus or hock protector stabilizes the bone of the back leg, as well as the muscles and tendons of the limb and knee. It works similarly to a knee brace in humans, allowing the dog to move without straining the joint. It also prevents the dog from re-injuring the affected joint or ligaments.

Elbows

An elbow protector is used to support the elbow joint after surgery or to reduce pain from arthritis, degenerative joint diseases, or other similar conditions. It provides control in lateral movement while allowing for normal extension and flexion while treating and protecting hygromas and calluses.

Hip

A hip support holds and increases the temperature of the dog’s lower back and hip. Made of special neoprene, it surrounds the lower back, hip and upper leg and is fastened thanks to a Roman-type harness. Hip supports are commonly used for dogs with mild to moderate hip dysplasia and localized osteoarthritis.

Shoulders

Medial shoulder instability (MSI) is one of the causes of lameness in the front legs. A special support would allow the shoulder to be supported, which would limit the extension, flexion and abduction, allowing the dog to support its weight. These aids can be used after surgery or as a non-surgical treatment but also preventively.

06/03/2014/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

Physiotherapy as an alternative treatment in compression of Cauda Equina

Pathologies, Treatments, vet

Physiotherapy as an alternative treatment in compression of Cauda Equina

SUMMARY

The cauda equina, is the set of nerves and nerve roots that originate from L6 – L7 innervating the posterior train by means of the nerves: Sciatic, Obturator, Pudendo, Femoral and Pelvic.

When generating a trauma at this level, mild to severe compressions can occur generating in the patient pain, claudication of hind limbs, contracture of all muscle mass, proprioceptive deficit, ataxic gait, incontinence, among other clinical signs that will guide the Veterinarian to establish an adequate medical treatment and in the case of the physiotherapist, locate the areas of pain and improve weight support, resistance, bodybuilding (avoiding muscle atrophy as much as possible), joint mobility and proprioception.

The diagnosis is made by radiological study and magnetic resonance imaging of the spine at the level of the lumbo-sacral joint, treatment options

consist of: cage rest, allopathic (NSAIDs, analgesics, corticosteroids), homotoxicological, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, being an excellent option the synergy between homotoxicological treatment and physiotherapy (integral analgesia).

This paper presents the case of a patient of a Pinscher, female, 10 months, which is taken to consultation after having suffered a trauma by fall presenting as main signs paraparesis, contracture of all muscle mass in hind limbs, proprioceptive deficit and ataxic gait. It was decided to perform physiotherapy and rehabilitation without suspending the medical treatment established from the beginning, managing to reduce the recovery time, improvement in the patient’s condition, elimination of the cause of the physical alteration, pain relief, reduce inflammation and resumption to daily life.

Keywords: cauda equine compression, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

Interested? Here’s the full article

Angelica B. Ortega Vasquez

Ortocanis.com Collaborator

30/05/2013/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

Treatment of hip dysplasia in the young dog

injuries, Pathologies, Treatments, vet

Hip dysplasia is a very common problem in certain breeds: BullDog, Bordeaux Doge, St. Bernard, Neapolitan Mastiff, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Golden… all of them have an incidence above 20%.

Dysplasia is a multifactorial, multigenic and hereditary disease, that is, there are several factors that predispose and cause hip dysplasia, there are several genes involved in its appearance and it has a hereditary character.

Environmental factors are becoming more and more important in the development of hip dysplasia, the genetic factor is necessary to develop the disease but this is not the only factor. Genetics is a necessary but not exclusive factor, that is, you can have the genetic predisposition and not develop the disease but if you do not have a predisposition it is sure that it does not develop.

There are several degrees of dysplasia, and also those that appear when the dog is a puppy or those that give problem already in adulthood; but in this article we will focus on the treatment and specifically on the treatment of dysplasia to young dogs.

Classification of the degrees of dysplasia according to the OFA :

Grade I: minimal alteration with small subluxation and few degenerative changes.

Grade II: marked lateral subluxation of the femoral head, 25-50% of which is outside the acetabulum.

Grade III: 50-75% of the femoral head is outside the acetabulum; there are important degenerative changes.

Grade IV: dislocation of the femoral head with flattening of the acetabular border and femoral head; there are major degenerative changes.

The presentation in the young dog is puppy hip x-ray normally between 5 and 6 months and is marked by a significant limp.

A dog is not considered to be free of dysplasia until at two years of age already completed no problems or inconsistencies are observed in the control x-rays.

Food is one of the factors that predisposes to the appearance of hip dysplasia, Calcium-Phosphorus imbalances that must keep a correlation Ca1.6% – P1.1% and above all not overfeeding or providing excess proteins allows us to minimize the incidence of hip dysplasia. A hypocaloric diet from 3 months to 8 months protects dogs with rapid growth from dysplasia. Excess weight at 60 days is another factor that predisposes to the disease.

Hip dysplasia in the puppy usually debuts from 5 or 6 months, before it is not possible to observe any problem and the dog has been completely normal and has developed normally. The debut is usually presented as a sharp limp that prevents the dog from playing as it had done to date. We can observe changes in the desire to play, negative when going for a walk, to relate to other dogs or owners. Mood swings, frequent slips of the hind legs, discomfort and even refusal to be touched and the fact of “fleeing” from children in dogs that until a few days ago were playful and affectionate are frequent.

Sometimes when you reach 90% of the growth between 8 and 11 months the signs can be reduced and even disappear. Anyway the dysplasia remains and in many cases the problems reappear after a while and sooner rather than later signs of osteoarthritis appear in the hips.

The most common clinical signs are:

Lameness that may increase with exercise

Walking and jogging with hip swing

Morning stiffness

Difficulty getting up

Muscle atrophy

Refusal to move

Mood swings

Pain on palpation

Sign of Ortolani.

Although there are surgical methods: excision of the pectineus muscle, triple hip osteotomy, arthroplasty of the femoral head, osteotomy of the pubis, forage, hip prostheses most are practiced when the dog is young to supposedly decrease the possibility of secondary coxofemoral osteoarthritis in adulthood. The hip prosthesis should be reserved for severe cases and once the growth has finished.

Medical treatment is based on anti-inflammatories, we can start with natural anti-inflammatories, such as inflamex, which does not contain medicinal substances, if we do not obtain the expected results move to Aine’s and in extreme cases corticos are resorted to. We must include nutraceuticals especially chondroprotectors since they reduce the incidence of osteoarthritis and protect the articular cartilage. These are used in senior dogs in a very general way but are very useful as a joint protector in growing dogs, there are specific drug carriers for young dogs. Weight reduction, moderate and above all regular exercise are other basic points, as well as improvements in the environment and the fact of sleeping on a special mattress for older dogs and in a warm place away from humidity.

Canine physiotherapy can help a lot to better develop the muscles to reduce pain, to draw tensions and eliminate compensations that the dog has made with the wrong postures and antialgic positions. This will be based on TENS, ultrasound, therapeutic exercises, the use of hydrotherapy, laser, shock waves…

The main improvement in the environment is to sleep on a good therapeutic mattress, not to be cold or exposed to a lot of humidity, to use in winter a thermal coat for dogs, to be able to be a therapeutic canine blanket that can be used all year round.

We can help our Dog with hip dysplasia, regular physical exercise can be very useful to improve muscle mass that better withstands poor joint congruence, avoid impacts, jumps or uncontrolled runs during the presentation of the picture are also important elements. Physiotherapy and massages allow you to always have the dog in a correct muscular state, and all the adjuvant treatments such as acupuncture, massages, reiki, bach flowers … they can also help with treatment. The latest novelty is the hip supports that help stabilize the pelvis, give support and greatly improve the quality of life of our pets.

Toni

Ortocanis.com Team

14/03/2013/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

Degeneration of the spine in dogs

injuries, most commented, Pathologies, Treatments, vet

Deforming Spondylosis in Dogs

DEGENERATION OF THE SPINE IN DOGS

Deforming spondylosis is a degenerative, non-inflammatory disease of the spine, characterized by the production of bone spurs in the lower, sides, and upper area of the vertebrae of the spine. These spurs are simply caused by bone growths, usually growing in response to aging or injury.

In dogs, deforming spondylosis most often occurs along the spine, in the back of the chest, and in the upper vertebrae of the lower back. Older and large breed dogs are at higher risk of developing deforming spondylosis.

SYMPTOMS

*Patients are usually asymptomatic, bone growth can be felt by touching your pet before perceiving changes in its behavior in the wake of growth

Fracture of spurs or bridges can cause pain
Rigidity
Restricted movement
Pain

CAUSES

Repeated microtrauma – repeated pressure on the same joints or bones, through certain exercises or activities
Major traumas – the body responds when trying to grow new bone
*Predisposition to hered spurs

DIAGNOSIS

Your veterinarian will do a complete physical examination of your dog, including a biochemical profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis, and an electrolyte panel, in order to rule out or confirm other diseases, such as cancer. You will need to give a complete history of your dog’s health, including background history of symptoms, onset of symptoms, and possible incidents that may have precipitated this condition.
X-ray images of the chest and abdomen (side view) are essential for the diagnosis of deforming spondylosis. X-rays reveal osteophytes (small bone growths) in the vertebrae, or in more advanced cases an osteophyte can be found as a bridge in the space between the vertebrae.

Your doctor may choose from several other types of tests in order to reach a definitive conclusion. A myelography uses the injection of a radiopaque substance to obtain an interior image; Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are also options. These procedures can help your veterinarian find a bone spur that may be putting pressure on your dog’s spinal cord or nerves (leading to neurological reactions).

TREATMENT

Usually, patients with deforming spondylosis do not show abnormal external symptoms of initial bone growth. A neurological examination should be performed to rule out a pathology of the spine that requires surgery. Otherwise, if the growth has reached the point of damaging nerves and tissue, and your pet suffers intense pain, or if your veterinarian has decided on a surgical solution, your dog will be hospitalized. Under normal circumstances, when damage to the body is minimal, and your dog feels little discomfort and pain, the condition will be treated on an outpatient basis, with strict rest and prescription painkillers for home treatment. Pain medications are given after your meals. To speed up recovery and from four days after the intervention you can use thermal coats or spine girdles for dogs (consult your veterinarian). Acupuncture can also provide pain relief for some animals.

LIFE AND MANAGEMENT

Depending on the severity of the symptoms, your veterinarian will schedule checkups to track your dog’s progress. Only give pain medication when your dog is showing signs of discomfort (after a meal), and only in the exact amount prescribed, unless your veterinarian tells you otherwise. Drug or drug overdose is one of the most common causes of unintentional deaths in pets. You will need to provide a safe and quiet place for your dog to rest, away from other pets and active children. During this time, limit yourself to slow walks around the neighborhood. When your dog shows no signs of discomfort for several weeks he can slowly return to normal activity.

Source: Venfido

www.ortocanis.com

13/03/2013/0 Comments/by Ortocanis

An examination of canine hip dysplasia grading

injuries, Pathologies, vet

The phenotypic evaluation of hips done by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals falls into seven different categories. Those categories are Normal (Excellent, Good, Fair), and Dysplastic (Mild, Moderate, Severe). Once each of the radiologists classifies the hip into one of the 7 phenotypes above, the final hip grade is decided by a consensus of the 3 independent outside evaluations. Examples would be:

Two radiologists reported Excellent, one Good—the final grade would be Excellent
One radiologist reported Excellent, one Good, one Fair—the final grade would be Good
One radiologist reported Fair, two radiologists reported Mild—the final grade would be Mild

The hip grades of Excellent, Good and Fair are within normal limits and are given OFA numbers. This information is accepted by AKC on dogs with permanent identification (tattoo, microchip) and is in the public domain. Radiographs of Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severely dysplastic hip grades are reviewed by the OFA radiologist and a radiographic report is generated documenting the abnormal radiographic findings. Unless the owner has chosen the open database, dysplastic hip grades are not in the public domain.

Excellent

Excellent: this classification is assigned for superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same age and breed. There is a deep seated ball (femoral head) which fits tightly into a well-formed socket (acetabulum) with minimal joint space. There is almost complete coverage of the socket over the ball.

Good

Good: slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is visualized. The ball fits well into the socket and good coverage is present.

Fair

Fair: Assigned where minor irregularities in the hip joint exist. The hip joint is wider than a good hip phenotype. This is due to the ball slightly slipping out of the socket causing a minor degree of joint incongruency. There may also be slight inward deviation of the weight-bearing surface of the socket (dorsal acetabular rim) causing the socket to appear slightly shallow. This can be a normal finding in some breeds however, such as the Chinese Shar Pei, Chow Chow, and Poodle.

Borderline

Borderline: there is no clear cut consensus between the radiologists to place the hip into a given category of normal or dysplastic. There is usually more incongruency present than what occurs in the minor amount found in a fair but there are no arthritic changes present that definitively diagnose the hip joint being dysplastic. There also may be a bony projection present on any of the areas of the hip anatomy illustrated above that can not accurately be assessed as being an abnormal arthritic change or as a normal anatomic variant for that individual dog. To increase the accuracy of a correct diagnosis, it is recommended to repeat the radiographs at a later date (usually 6 months). This allows the radiologist to compare the initial film with the most recent film over a given time period and assess for progressive arthritic changes that would be expected if the dog was truly dysplastic. Most dogs with this grade (over 50%) show no change in hip conformation over time and receive a normal hip rating; usually a fair hip phenotype.

Mild

Mild Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is partially out of the socket causing an incongruent increased joint space. The socket is usually shallow only partially covering the ball. There are usually no arthritic changes present with this classification and if the dog is young (24 to 30 months of age), there is an option to resubmit an radiograph when the dog is older so it can be reevaluated a second time. Most dogs will remain dysplastic showing progression of the disease with early arthritic changes. Since HD is a chronic, progressive disease, the older the dog, the more accurate the diagnosis of HD (or lack of HD).

Moderate

Moderate Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is barely seated into a shallow socket causing joint incongruency. There are secondary arthritic bone changes usually along the femoral neck and head (termed remodeling), acetabular rim changes (termed osteophytes or bone spurs) and various degrees of trabecular bone pattern changes called sclerosis. Once arthritis is reported, there is only continued progression of arthritis over time.

Severe

Severe Hip Dysplasia: assigned where radiographic evidence of marked dysplasia exists. There is significant subluxation present where the ball is partly or completely out of a shallow socket. Like moderate HD, there are also large amounts of secondary arthritic bone changes along the femoral neck and head, acetabular rim changes and large amounts of abnormal bone pattern changes.

Other Hip Dysplasia Registries—An Approximation

OFA	FCI (European)	BVA (UK/Australia)	SV (Germany)
Excellent	A-1	0-4 (no > 3/hip)	Normal
Good	A-2	5-10 (no > 6/hip)	Normal
Fair	B-1	11-18	Normal
Borderline	B-2	19-25	Fast Normal
Mild	C	26-35	Noch Zugelassen
Moderate	D	36-50	Mittlere
Severe	And	51-106	Schwere

Font: Orthopedic Foundation For Animals

20/02/2013/0 Comments/by Ortocanis