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Hip Problems

Legg-Perthe's disease: A Not-So-Hip Disorder

Among the many problems that can develop in a dog's hip joints is a condition known as Legg-Perthe's Disease, a disabling ailment that causes deterioration and flattening of the hip joint. In most dogs, the disease develops when the animal is between four and eight months old. Lameness can come on suddenly or else develop gradually over six to eight weeks. During this period of time the muscles begin to atrophy, giving the impression that the dog has one limb shorter than the others. There also will be noticeable restricted movement in the animal's joints. When the leg muscles become weakened through atrophy, it slows down the animal's recovery. [...]

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Hip Dysplasia a Crippling Ailment for Many Large-Breed Dogs

Another of the common joint ailments that affect dogs, hip dysplasia is a disorder that is widely misunderstood. As with all human types of arthritis, some information is known, but many factors about the problem aren't yet fully understood. In normal, healthy dogs, the hip joint attaches the hind leg to the body, and consists of a ball-and-socket construction. The ball portion is located at the head of the femur, or thigh bone, while the socket is attached to the pelvis. In a normal joint, the ball rotates freely within the socket, and the spot where the two bones actually connect (the articular surface), is cushioned by spongy cartilage. The bones also are held together with a ligament and the joint capsule, a strong band of connective tissue which surrounds the dog's two leg bones, adding stability. [...]

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Aging Takes Its Toll in the Form of Joint Disease

Aging takes it toll on everyone, animals as well as humans. Among the hardest hit are the joints, especially the articular cartilage inside those joints, which normally provides a smooth, low-friction buffer between the bones. A variety of causes, including age, can cause this cartilage to break down or develop fissures, resulting in severe pain, inflammation, and lameness. Although degenerative joint disease (and the resulting arthritis) is generally considered a problem of older canines, it's appearing in more and more younger large-breed dogs as well. Selective breeding has resulted in the altering of bone structure in several breeds, especially larger dogs such as German Shepherds, Great Danes and Mastiffs. In these animals, many are now born with a defect that prevents the development of normal cartilage, leading to permanent early lameness in the shoulders, knees, and ankles. [...]

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Growing Pains In Large And Giant Breeds

Growing pains are normal in any type of mammal and occur where there are growth spurts or rapid development in the long bones of the skeleton. In dogs this is typically in the front leg or humerus bones or the hind leg tibia or femur bones. While some growing pains are to be expected, especially since the giant and large breeds of dogs mature and grow so rapidly, there are also several different conditions that can occur that are serious medical conditions and are not average growth related issues. One of the most common of these growing pain disorders is known as Panosteitis. This condition is noted by intermittent lameness in all the legs or just in the front or back legs, sometimes at different times or occasionally in all four legs at the same time. The greatest problem is that the condition will come and go, sometimes lasting only a few days or even up to two or more weeks. [...]

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Arthritis

Arthritis means joint inflammation, but the term is somewhat misleading because arthritis is much more than joint inflammation and cats do contract many forms of arthritis depending upon the breed and external factors. The particular forms of arthritis that cats suffer from are: Traumatic Arthritis (sprain) and Osteoarethritis, from there, there are several diseases that belong to one group or the other. Traumatic Arthritis as the name implies occurs when there is some sort of a trauma, (sprain) injury. In cats that could be the result of being hit by a moving vehicle, a cat fight, or bad fall. If the trauma is a result of a simple sprain chances are the pain will go away in no time and is really not that serious. However, if the traumatic arthritis is more serious, resulting from being hit by a car or other serious accident, a fracture may occur in the joint and your cat may require surgery to repair the damage. [...]

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Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia refers to a deformity of the hip joint, which leads to arthritis if left untreated. This condition is very painful. Up until recently it was only large breeds of dogs that were diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Veterinarians are now realizing that all breeds of cats can have the disease as well. The Devon Rex has been reported to have a 40% likelihood of contracting the disease. The prevalence in the Main Coon Cat, Persian, and Himalayan drops down to about 20 percent and domestic housecats less than 5 percent. [h]Causes[/h] It is believed that larger breeds of cats will more often suffer from dysplasia than smaller cats. The reason for this is that the larger the bones the less protective cushioning of muscle and sinuous tissue surrounding them. Less protective cushioning leads to greater risk for hip displacement. [...]

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Lameness

Lameness is a very common problem found in felines. Lameness can be caused by a number of factors contributing to the cat's inability to walk normally. Lameness refers specifically to walking with a limp or having difficulty walking. Essentially, the various reasons for difficulty in walking can be attributed to some disease of the musculoskeletal system brought on by genetic factors, trauma to the bones, virus and other infections, and arthritis. Yet, in many cases the root cause of lameness is really not known. Listed here are some conditions and diseases where lameness is known to occur. [...]

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Canine Hip Dysplasia

Canine hip dysplasia is found in almost all breeds of dogs but is particularly prominent in some of the larger working breeds. The condition is very difficult to treat and only preventable through selecting males and females that are free from any signs of canine hip dysplasia and have been certified as free from the condition by a qualified veterinarian. Since the signs of canine hip dysplasia or CHD are very minor at first, unless tested and x-rayed it is possible for dogs to appear sound and healthy but still have the condition. Canine hip dysplasia has been known to be a very serious problem in dogs for many, many years, with continual research on detection, prevention and management of the condition ongoing in most areas of the world. Since this condition is both debilitating and progressive, leading to other conditions such as arthritis and other bone and joint related problems. Breeders, researchers and animal health professionals have made this condition a priority for research and treatment development. [...]

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