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Icing joints?

Gabe

My 7-year old golden retriever has bad knees. Xrays ahve shown that he has partial tears in his ACL (though I can't remember exactly which ligaments are inured). I am considering surgery, but I hear that surgery may or may not improve things and may actually make it worse. In the meantime, what other options are there? We are limiting activity and do leach walks only. I have an anti-inflammatory I give him when needed. Do you recommend applying heat or ice at times when needed (like after a walk)?

Symptoms: Pain

• Veteran Advisor Helen Fines says:

  February 18th, 2008 at 01:42 PM

  You're right that surgery may or may not improve things- and it does involve a long post-op rehab period which is often quite difficult for the dog and owner. Cruciate disease in these cicumstances is a degenerative condition, which means the ACLs fray and tear. There is always some level of acute inflammation so icing cannot hurt- it may slow the rate of degeneration by reducing inflammation, as will the medication. Eventually many dogs will adapt to the damaged joints by fibrous repair and enlargement of the soft tissue structures around the joint. There will be a developing arthritis whatever he has surgery or not, and this will ultimately be the deciding factor in his care. Regular moderate exercise, weight control and anti-inflammatory meds are the mainstays. There are many different surgical options though so it would be valuable to discuss all the different possibilities with an orthopaedic specialist so you can make an informed choice about what to do. It sounds like you are doing everything possible in the meantime though.

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• User says:

  February 18th, 2008 at 06:10 PM

  Thanks for the response! This is a great website, a good bolster to the regular vet, which can be hit or miss. One more question: what about steroid shots? Is this something that is done for dogs? Also, a friend of mine has a leg brace system that he says helps his dog quite a bit. What are your thoughts on leg braces? Thanks again.

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• Veteran Advisor Helen Fines says:

  February 19th, 2008 at 12:28 AM

  Hi again. Steroids are used for their anti-inflammatory effect, they don't have any advantages over non-steroidal anti-inflammatories in my opinion. They used to be commonly injected into a joint but it's well proven now that they advance arthritic changes. Leg braces are relatively new, and it's uncertain how to evaluate the evidence as yet, but you probably don't have anything to lose by trying them if you opt for conservative treatment, and possibly alot to gain. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

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