Treatment for Sports Dog Injuries

Dog sports are a fun way for dog owners to have their pets compete in events that test a dog’s mental and physical abilities. Unfortunately, just like human athletes, sporting dogs can get injured while competing. These injuries are usually musculoskeletal in nature, which in time, contributes to the development of dog arthritis.

Below are the three most common injuries in sporting dogs:

• Muscular trigger points or knots are painful muscle bands which can cause lameness and stiffness in the affected area. This type of injury is commonly the result of muscle fatigue or trauma.
• Neck or back pain could mean a lot of things. However, a common injury in the said area may be a result of a slipped disc. Discs are shock absorbing cushions found between the individual bones of a dog’s spine. Although they do not actually "slip," a disc may rupture, allowing the gel like substance in the affected disc to escape. The disc material can place pressure on the spinal cord or on a single nerve fiber resulting in pain.
• A knee injury usually involves the cruciate ligaments. When one of the ligaments gets torn, it causes the knee joint to be unstable. Sporting dogs competing in sprint competitions are most prone to the injury.

Treating Sports Injuries

For sports injuries, prevention is always better. Treatment, no matter how effective, is not an assurance that an injured dog can regain normal performance. Adopting a safe physical routine will help prepare your dog for the rigors of competition. Proper diet and the right kind of supplements will provide your dog with the right amounts of protein, calcium, Omega-3, vitamins E, D, and B complex are good ways to keep your sporting dog’s muscles, bones, and joints healthy.      

But if your dog does get injured, getting the correct diagnosis is essential. Trigger points can be treated with physical therapy, and massage. Slipped disc can be treated with anti-inflammatory medications and pain killers, although in severe cases, surgery can be an option. 

A tear in one of the cruciate ligament injury would most often need surgery. However, to complicate matters, there are many surgical procedures that can be used. None have been medically proven to be more effective than others but here’s my take on cruciate ligament surgery:

• Extracapsular suture. Also known as a de Angelis suture or lateral fabellotibial suture. It is a fast and effective procedure with a low complication rate, especially for small dogs.
• Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). This technique involves cutting the tibia (shin bone) so that it can be repositioned to make the knee joint more stable. It works well, especially for large dogs, but comes with a higher complication rate.
• Tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA), and triple tibial osteotomy (TTO). These are newer techniques but are a similar concept to the TPLO.

All of the surgical procedures are effective, however, it is important discuss the options with your veterinary surgeon and choose which will be the best for your dog. Do not be ashamed to consider the cost of the procedure, as the newer surgical techniques can be twice or thrice more expensive. Nonetheless, the need for early treatment cannot be stressed enough as this will lessen the advancement of dog arthritis.

 Treatment for Sports Dog Injuries (PDF)