Osteoarthritis
"At my age, I have an achy, breaky everything." Your childhood was probably a lie if your grandparents did not have at least four throw pillows with that quote. This blog will address one of the most common reasons for veterinary sick visits. I will also explain some new products that may be beneficial in managing arthritis. This will help improve your pet's quality of life and activity level and increase their lifespan by years!
Changes in the cartilage of joints cause osteoarthritis (OA). Cartilage is a cushion for your joints and prevents bones from grinding against each other. With an increase in age and weight, a progressive breakdown of that cartridge begins. It causes inflammation and changes in synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints. All of this can be considered…bad to the bone.
Osteoarthritis in a canine stifle.
Noticing your pet limping for the first time can be alarming. However, most pet parents (myself included) usually say, "Ehhh, we'll see how it goes over the next few days." With arthritis, your pet's limping may get better or worse due to changes in weather, activity level, and medications. However, over time this progressive disease will cause the lameness to become worse or more frequent. Unfortunately, many times by the time we see patients with OA, it is likely because they are in significant pain and may have been in pain for quite a while. Make no bones about it, most pets will be stoic and only show pain when it’s too hard to hide.
Osteoarthritis is usually considered a 'diagnosis of exclusion.' As always, the best diagnostic test is the history performed by your vet staff. X-rays of the hips and other joints can also help to determine changes that OA may have caused. Arthritis may also be contributed by secondary factors such as cranial cruciate ligament tears, genetics, injuries, and their body condition score being in the 'O lawd he comin' end of the body condition scale.
Your beloved chonk of a yellow lab that "only gets table food occasionally" has been diagnosed or is at risk of developing OA. What's next? The most effective thing you as a pet parent can do, which will extend your pet's life by years, is cut back on your pet's food intake. Over 50% of pets are obese in the US. Pets are 100% dependent on owners for the amount of calories and diet they consume. I promise they will not waste away without those extra snacks, so resist those begging eyes. Please buy a measuring cup to feed your pet and learn how many calories are in your pet's food. Your vet can calculate how many calories your pet should eat for their diet. (body weight[kg] ^0.75 X 70) This is how many calories your pet burns while resting. This can be adjusted by your pet's life stage by following: Pet Nutrition Alliance.
Oden with his help-em-up harness after his CCL repair.
Now that that's out of the way. Supplements. An average healthy dog/cat on a well-balanced diet does not need supplements. Anyone that says differently is selling something. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate can help with inflammation and pain and repair joint cartage. Fatty acid can help as well with inflammation as well as benefit the skin. Adequan is an injection your veterinarian gives that can help protect the cartilage. While these things can help, addressing the underlying cause is more important. It doesn't matter how many supplements you give your pet if they have a torn CCL and are overweight. Prescription food can also help with many of these supplements while being low-calorie. Water therapy, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, and low-impact exercise are fantastic supplements with diet modification.
The biggest goal with any pet is quality of life. While we are not going to fix OA, there are things we can do to ensure your pet is as comfortable as possible for as long as possible while building muscle. Again, I am not sponsored or trying to sell anything besides nifty bucket hats with my logo. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are used to manage pain and inflammation and are one of the best ways to help with your pet's pain. Do not give your pet over-the-counter pain medications, or your vet will have a bone to pick with you. Some new injections can be used to manage arthritis (Solensia for cats and Librela for dogs). Many veterinarians (including myself) are very excited as these injections have little to no side effects, and because they are an injection, there is no having to pill your cat.
You know your pet better than anyone else. Whether you notice your cat is not jumping up to steal tacos anymore (I know this from experience…..thank you, Sirius, for the constant bites out of my food) or your dog is taking a little more time to stand up. As my wife loves to say, “You are their advocate.” New medications are coming out, as well as further training for veterinarians constantly. Aging is normal, and arthritis is often a part of that (just ask my knees), but if you make a joint effort with your vet to manage the disease, it may not be as much of a pain in the butt…I mean hips.
