Posted: 3/8/2009 6:17:57 PM EDT
|
So my dog injured his leg somehow about 6 or 7 weeks ago. He is about 1 year and 9 months, a LAB/GSD mix.
It is the back hind leg. He seems to be doing better, but he still will not put full weight on the leg. When he is standing in one place I noticed that he seems to stand on only 75% or so of the rear right paw. Also the CCL is fine and X-rays on the leg were negative. The ortho vet thought a minor knee injury of some sort, but the CCL was perfectly normal. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, but I am concerned because he still wont put his full wait on it. Now here is a video of him walking. Do you think his walk looks okay? I could use a fresh set of eyes. Just watch the hind right leg… Video 1 Video 2 |
|
do you know how the "injury" occured? did your vet test for valley fever? if you live in an area with a lot of dirt then he/she could have contracted it. it is typically a fungal infection in the lungs and coughing is usually a symptom. occasionaly swelling or lameness of limbs can be a sign of this disease, even when there is no coughing.
just a thought. good luck |
|
I live in Western Washington. It rains all the time and he stays indoors. We are going to a knee specialist this week.
It is only the right hind leg that is bothering him. ETA: One day I cam home from work and he had broken out of his old crate and seemed to be limping. But he is also a recent rescue (3 months), so he could have re-aggravated a previous injury |
|
I just got back from the Animal ER a few hours ago. Apparently, my 7 month old GSD has something called panosteitis. The vet said this is a condition that is pretty common among large breed puppies until they mature at 2 years old or so. She said for an unknown reason, male GSD's are by far the most common dog she sees with this condition. She said "pano" causes great pain around any one particular leg. Our GSD was in obvious pain, but he was a real trooper about the whole thing. I was sure he broke his leg the way he suddenly started limping around last night. The good news is this appears to be quite treatable with proper med's and rest affected dogs usually recover completely within a couple of weeks of treatment. He's already going up and down the stairs in an attempt to digest one of our cats. I'd better go put a stop to that...
...and I'm back. Here's what wikipedia had to say: Panosteitis is a common bone disease in dogs. It manifests with sudden, otherwise unexplained pain and lameness sometimes shifting from leg to leg, usually between 5 and 14 months of age.[1] Signs such as fever and weight loss, and symptoms such as anorexia, and lethargy can also be seen. The cause is unknown, but genetics, stress, infection, metabolism, or an autoimmune component may be factors.[2] It has also been suggested that rapid growth and high-protein food are involved in the pathogenesis[3].
Panosteitis is characterized histologically by an increase in activity of osteoblasts and fibroblasts in the periosteum, endosteum and bone marrow, resulting in fibrosis and the formation of connective tissue in the medullary cavity of the affected bone. Pain may be caused by increased pressure in the medullary cavity and the stimulation of pain receptors in the periosteum.[4] The humerus is most commonly affected.[5] Males are more commonly affected than females.[6] Diagnosis is made by pain on palpation of the long bones of the limbs. X-rays may show an increased density in the medullary cavity of the affected bones, often near the nutrient foramen (where the blood vessels enter the bone). This evidence may not be present for up to ten days after lameness begins.[7] Pain medication and exercise restriction can help to relieve the symptoms, and the lameness usually goes away after days to weeks without additional treatment. Recurrences up to the age of two years may occur.[7] Larger breeds, such as German Shepherd Dogs, Golden Retrievers, Basset Hounds, Dobermanns, Labrador Retrievers, and Rottweilers, are more prone to this problem.  There has been one suspected case of panosteitis in a fast-growing six month old camel with a shifting leg lameness.
|
|
It could cause lameness in one or both legs. Pressure on the cauda equina nerves results in inflammation. The cause could be anthing from an infection in a spinal disc, trauma, a spinal tumor, or instability at this joint. Most would not be immediately apparent on regular radiographs. My dog, who was diagnosed with this, only showed lameness in one leg and she acted like it was her knee. It came and went, but as time went on, the lameness stayed for longer periods of time. Hers was induced by an injury after being hit by a steer. |
|
Uh oh! How did he go from a normal CCL diagnosis (your orignal post) to a torn one? Well the good news is that it is repairable, just not cheap to do so. Repairs can and do last and dogs can go on to live healthly lives after surgery. Quoted: We have a torn CCL....  |
|
Quoted:
Uh oh! How did he go from a normal CCL diagnosis (your orignal post) to a torn one? Well the good news is that it is repairable, just not cheap to do so. Repairs can and do last and dogs can go on to live healthly lives after surgery. Quoted:
We have a torn CCL.... I was told initially CCL was pulled, but intact. But it worsened and worsened and appears to have torn. |