LIMPING IN DOGS: CAUSES AND TREATMENT

The most common reasons dogs limp are painful injuries and underlying medical conditions affecting muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, or the nervous system. In addition to being an indicator of potential injuries or illness, a dog’s limp could also signify long term (chronic) conditions such as arthritis.

Depending upon the type of injury or cause of the limping, a dog may shift weight onto the opposite limb to avoid putting weight on the painful leg.

While some cases of limping may be temporary and resolve with rest, others can indicate serious medical conditions that require veterinary attention.

It is therefore important to diagnose the underlying reason behind your dog’s limp so you know how best to treat your dog’s condition and minimize additional injury.

Causes

There are numerous possible reasons why an animal would have lameness. These range from minor injuries to various complex orthopedic and neurological disorders.
Examples of these include:

• Fractures and dislocations
• Broken or torn nails
• Foreign objects lodged in the paw
• Bone infections
• Sprains and strains
• Cuts, wounds, or bruises
• Neurological disorders
• Bone tumors and cancer
• Torn ligaments, including cranial cruciate ligament injuries
• Arthritis or degenerative joint disease
• Hip dysplasia
• Elbow dysplasia
• Paw pad injuries

Symptoms

Depending on what is causing the lameness and how severely the animal is experiencing lameness symptoms can vary greatly. A dog with a limp may show:

• Favoring one leg when walking
• Difficulty getting up from a sitting or lying position
• Joint stiffness, particularly following periods of rest
• Refusal to run, jump, or go upstairs
• Painful swelling at a joint or leg
• Over-licking of an injured location
• Reduced activity levels
• Vocalizing, whining, or showing signs of discomfort
• Bleeding cuts, visible wounds and deformities
• Abnormal posture or gait.

Risks

Ignoring a limp can enable the problem to escalate and potentially lead to long-term problems.

Potential Complications

Unattended injuries could result in chronic pain, joint instability, decreased movement, and permanent harm to bone or soft tissue. As dogs experience discomfort from untreated issues, they are likely to be less active, which could cause them to lose their muscles and gain weight.

Some issues, such as ligament tears, fractures, infections, and bone tumors, may advance once treatment has been put off. If treated early, most of these issues have better results for treatments and reduce potential additional problems.

Diagnosis

To diagnose the issue causing the limping, a veterinary exam must occur.

The veterinarian will review the dog’s medical history and discuss when the limping occurred. determining when the limp began and how it progressed and if there was any sort of injury recently, or if there was any change in the dogs level of activity.

Assessments of the affected limb, joints, muscles, and paws will take place during the examination to assess for signs of pain, swelling, instability, or reduced range of motion. The veterinarian will also assess the dog’s gait while observing them walk.

Diagnostic testing might be included in assessments:

• Radiographs (X-rays)
• Blood Tests
• Ultrasound exams
• CT Scans
• MRI Scans
• Joint Fluid Analysis

X-ray, blood tests, ultrasound exams, CT scans, MRI scans, and joint fluid analysis all serve to assist vets in identifying fractures, joint disease, soft tissue injuries, infections and many other possible causes.

Treatment

Depending upon the cause and extent of the lameness, treatment is varied.

Small soft-tissue injuries typically resolve with rest, restricted activities and pain control. Dogs with cuts, wounds, or paw injuries usually require cleaning, bandaging, and appropriate wound care.

Anti-inflammatory drugs, rehabilitative exercises, weight control and supportive joint supplements are used as needed, depending upon the case. More serious injuries, including fractured bones and torn ligaments, may need surgical repair.

Long term cases involving Arthritis will receive a long term management program combining medication, limited exercise, rehabilitation therapies and lifestyle adjustments to provide improved mobility and comfort.

Treatment for limping due to infections, neurological disorders or cancers will depend on treating the primary source while controlling pain and improving quality of life.

Prevention

While there are no guarantees against all potential causes of lameness, there are methods to reduce the likelihood of these causes.

Helping your pet maintain a healthy body weight is very important since excessive weight adds stress to the joints and raises the probability of movement related issues. Also, proper exercise will support muscle development as well as joint health; however, this has to be based upon the pet’s age, breed and overall physical status.

By creating a safe living environment, you could lower the chances of your pet experiencing an accident or injury. In addition to this, regular paw inspections (in order to catch cuts, foreign materials, etc., before they become serious) along with regularly scheduled veterinary visits allow for the identification of any orthopedic conditions prior to them developing into more serious situations resulting in lameness.