Arthritis prevention after orthopedic surgery?
Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 3:15 am
Hello all-
About 3 years ago when my girl Dapper was just over a year old, she shattered her back right tibia(lower leg). She had to have a metal rod inserted inside the hollow of the bone with several pins to secure it, permanent. Pre-surgery I had to sign a paperwork acknowledging a 100% chance of arthritis developing as she ages as result of the repair.
Three years later she's able to live a normal life- running, fetching, playing rough, and bouncing around the farm with me- but she definitely has limitations. She's a slow runner when she does run, she's hesitates sometimes before jumping in the car or the bed etc, she opts out of our trail runs on the property now and waits for me in the yard instead, and she has a distinctive limp that comes out especially after a lot of activity. I don't ask her to do do cool stuff like climb ladders any more either.
I would say she got about 75-80% of that leg back.
The doc did say that leg could end up a little shorter after surgery which could cause a limp, but the fact that the limp comes out after activity makes me think she does have pain. I worry about pain and arthritis in the surgery area of course, but also in her opposite leg/hip which is over compensating for the injured leg. The opposite leg does feel beefier.
All of this being said, does any one have experience with an orthopedic surgery like this with their dog, and what can you recommend to me for preventing arthritis or other degeneration? What do I need to know that I don't know? What can you warn me about? I don't want to learn the hard way later. This girl deserves the best!
I give her Synovi G3 chews every day. Otherwise I don't do anything special for her, except that she gets rides around the property while the boys have to run. I'm not sure if I should stop playing fetch since its so high impact but she absolutely lives for it. I also don't want inactivity/lack of use to lead to degeneration as I know it can with people with certain ailments. Thoughts, recommendations?
Thanks for reading.
About 3 years ago when my girl Dapper was just over a year old, she shattered her back right tibia(lower leg). She had to have a metal rod inserted inside the hollow of the bone with several pins to secure it, permanent. Pre-surgery I had to sign a paperwork acknowledging a 100% chance of arthritis developing as she ages as result of the repair.
Three years later she's able to live a normal life- running, fetching, playing rough, and bouncing around the farm with me- but she definitely has limitations. She's a slow runner when she does run, she's hesitates sometimes before jumping in the car or the bed etc, she opts out of our trail runs on the property now and waits for me in the yard instead, and she has a distinctive limp that comes out especially after a lot of activity. I don't ask her to do do cool stuff like climb ladders any more either.
I would say she got about 75-80% of that leg back.
The doc did say that leg could end up a little shorter after surgery which could cause a limp, but the fact that the limp comes out after activity makes me think she does have pain. I worry about pain and arthritis in the surgery area of course, but also in her opposite leg/hip which is over compensating for the injured leg. The opposite leg does feel beefier.
All of this being said, does any one have experience with an orthopedic surgery like this with their dog, and what can you recommend to me for preventing arthritis or other degeneration? What do I need to know that I don't know? What can you warn me about? I don't want to learn the hard way later. This girl deserves the best!
I give her Synovi G3 chews every day. Otherwise I don't do anything special for her, except that she gets rides around the property while the boys have to run. I'm not sure if I should stop playing fetch since its so high impact but she absolutely lives for it. I also don't want inactivity/lack of use to lead to degeneration as I know it can with people with certain ailments. Thoughts, recommendations?
Thanks for reading.