ACL rehab for dogs

[anoki]

So my little Cash-man 'strained' his cruciate ligament. My vet agrees with me that this is most definitely the wussiest Cardigan Corgi ever (and one of the wussiest dogs he's ever seen), I am much relieved that after appearing to be 'going down' in the rear, that it is NOT a spinal injury. I am also relieved that the ACL is NOT torn (very $$$$ surgery). HOWEVER, his rehab is SIX MONTHS of 'safe' exercise....ie no rough housing with the other dogs and herding is definitely out for the year

.

This dog is NOT a dog that I can crate easily. He gets very anxious when left alone in a crate, which my vet is aware of, and told me absolute crate rest isn't the best answer, but definitely SAFE exercise. He can come on our walks but is not allowed to be off leash to screw around with the other dogs. He is not going to like this...he is a very, VERY active boy.

Has anyone else had a dog that hurt it's cruciate but did not tear it??? I am well aware of the rehab following surgery for a cruciate tear, as I had to rehab a neighbour's dog following that surgery just over a year ago now. That dog recovered amazingly well!

I forgot to ask if water therapy would be a good thing for him, but I will look into it.

~kathryn

 

[Riverrose28]

sounds like your vet gave you some good advice, I will add that warm water soaks do help, and after walking (keep It brief for a few weeks) a cold wet rag applied to the area will help. You can also use massage. The exercise will help to build up the muscles to help hold the ligament in place for healing, but must be done slowly. Worked for a small animal vet for thirty five years and have been retired now for 10, and I know some things have changed so your vet is the best person to give you advice. Good luck with your little guy I have a pembrook, long backs do concern us all and I'm glad his is not injured.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I know nothing of your case specifically, but in general 70% of dogs do not have an acute tear of the ACL, rather they have degenerative disease. 6 months is outside of the range for most recommendations for conservative care.

If you have not already, have the knees x-rayed if lameness is present longer than 2 weeks and see if you find arthritis, if you do then I'd consider more options.

Dr Taylor

 

[Mona]

Although we have not experienced just an ACL sprain, we have had 2 Boxers in the past that have had tears. The first one we did not have the surgery done, because back then, they wanted to take muscle off his hip to make a new tendon, and it seemed like it would be quite an awful ordeal, so we opted to try to just limit his bouts of running and jumping, and give NSAIDS to help with pain and inflamation. He seemed to do fine with that decision, having "flare-ups" occassionally, however, he was young, and he died young, at just 5 years of age, due to Lymphoma.

Our second Boxer to have those troubles, was a little older, at 7 years. We had surgery done on her (one leg only) and thankfully, we had it done in the Fall, and it was fairly easy at that time to keep her quiet, because hubby and I were both working full days, so she was crated. Because of the weather, of November, she was not spending much time outside, short of doing her business, and of course, as time went on, it only got colder, so the timing worked out well. We did not limit her in the house, other than moving her crate to the main floor level from our upstairs bedroom so that she wouldn't be climbing stairs. So her recovery period was actually very uneventful and rather easy to control on quite a natural level. I believe it was restricted for only about 6 weeks too.

We did have an Anatolian too that seemed to come up with a lameness in her one hind leg, and the vet could not find a cause on the xrays, so he thought it was likely due to an ACL pull and it healed in time too. We did not really have the advantage of keeping her quiet, she had to baby herself, as she was loose in the pasture with the horses.

Good Luck with your little one!

 

[anoki]

Thanks everyone! I was away all weekend, so I'm just getting back to this...

I know nothing of your case specifically, but in general 70% of dogs do not have an acute tear of the ACL, rather they have degenerative disease. 6 months is outside of the range for most recommendations for conservative care.

If you have not already, have the knees x-rayed if lameness is present longer than 2 weeks and see if you find arthritis, if you do then I'd consider more options.

Dr Taylor

Thanks Dr Taylor. Could you expand on this a little more??

The dog is 1 1/2 years old, ALL muscle, and VERY active. He definitely does NOT have a tear, as 4 days later, he is 100% sound again, which was quite a dramatic change (about 200% improvement) from how it presented.

Are you saying 6 months is much longer than is normally recommended? I am aware of the care needed with a tear of the ACL......but with humans I know that strains take much longer and more 'rehab' than a tear that has been repaired with surgery.

I just want to do what is best with the smallest amount of risk of actually tearing it....

~kathryn

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Thanks everyone! I was away all weekend, so I'm just getting back to this...

Thanks Dr Taylor. Could you expand on this a little more??

The dog is 1 1/2 years old, ALL muscle, and VERY active. He definitely does NOT have a tear, as 4 days later, he is 100% sound again, which was quite a dramatic change (about 200% improvement) from how it presented.

Are you saying 6 months is much longer than is normally recommended? I am aware of the care needed with a tear of the ACL......but with humans I know that strains take much longer and more 'rehab' than a tear that has been repaired with surgery.

I just want to do what is best with the smallest amount of risk of actually tearing it....

~kathryn

Being sound again doesn't mean he doesn't have a complete tear, but I will grant you its a better sign. Some dogs will be fine for a few days then become lame again for a few days. If that happens twice over less than a month then I think most of those need surgery. If he remains sound then great.

Most of the time we protect this group for 6-8 weeks with cage rest and light exercise. 6 months is longer than normal.

Dr Taylor

 

[anoki]

Thanks Dr Taylor!!!

I am keeping him quiet and with light exercise, and will keep this up for at least 4-6 weeks....then be careful for another 4-6 weeks to be 'safe' (ie no herding sheep).

I appreciate the thoughts on this!!

~kathryn