Osteoarthritis Management
With the colder weather well and truely settled in Tasmania, some of our animals are feeling a bit stiff and slow in the mornings. Is your dog a little slower or a bit hesitant to go for that walk? Is your cat struggling to jump up and destroy your couch by scratching like normal? Is your older horse dragging their back legs a little more than normal? There is a chance that your animal is suffering from osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease is charities by break down of cartilage in the joints. Osteoarthritis will present as pain with joint movements and thus your pet may find it more difficult to go up and down stairs, be unwilling to jump up to bed, or into the car. It is much more common in older animals; however, some younger animals will develop arthritis as a result of injuries or trauma. Without cartilage in the joint acting as a cushion, the bones rub directly against each other causing pain and inflammation. As the disease progresses the joint fluid, which acts as a joint lubricant, thins and joint movement becomes restricted. As osteoarthritis is a progressive disease, it will continue to get worse over time. There are a number of different steps to slow this progression and make the animal more comfortable, especially over the colder months.
What can you do for your pet? A lot!!! Chondroprotective agents and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). Your veterinarian may prescribe NSAIDs to provide pain management and reduce inflammation for your pet. Ideally these are used concurrently with chondroprotective agents. These products such as for Synovan for cats and dogs or Arthropen for horses, work to inhibit the breakdown of cartilage, improve the quality and quantity of joint fluid, improve circulation and normalise the immune response in the joints.
Natural supplementation - concurrent use of natural supplementation is encouraged in our clinic. Glycosaminoglycans, such as glucosamine and chondroitin, are components that make up cartilage and can be found in many supplements. Glycosaminoglycans and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are typically found in high concentrations in fish-based products and oils. Supplementation will not have immediate effects on your pet and requires four to six weeks of consistent supplementation before positive effects may be noted. One main supplement we recommend is 4cyte or Epiitallis – which has positive and proven in effectiveness. These are oral supplementation that can be used for both dogs and horses!
We know that unfortunately as osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease we need to be proactive about slowing this down to give our pets the best life in the long run. Often that may mean giving them non-steroidal anti-inflammatories as a preventative. Please know that if you trial a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with your pet - and your not happy with the outcome, there are many other ones we can try! Not all medication works on all patients, so it’s very much about finding the right fit for your animal. In the last 18 month there has been a new range of drugs released for dogs which is a monoclonal antibody that targets nerve cell receptors. This new drug has changed the way we deal with osteoarthritis in dogs - as it’s a very effective drug with very minimal reported side effects.
Vet in the Valley is proud to offer in home consultations about managing your older animal through the winter! Please do not hesitate to contact us on 0419306182 if you would like to enquire about how we can help your pet!