Treating Back and Hip Muscle Strain
Back pain is a debilitating and painful problem for people and for dogs. What is interesting about it, though, is that it doesn’t create problems until it has ramped up a bit over time. Dogs with back pain do NOT limp. In fact, it can be hard for the average owner to see at all.
What you might hear in the history or see at home:
Progressive slowing down on walks
Progressive lack of ability to jump up or to climb stairs
Groaning when trying to lie down
Reluctance to sit or lay down
Fear of touch on the back or hips
Fear of being jumped on by another dog
Our rehab team has studied acupuncture, chiropractic care, rehabilitation therapy, shockwave therapy, stem cell therapy and medication strategies for the best way to approach this for more than a decade. After years of working on dogs with back pain, there really is a best possible approach for getting back pain to be controlled with less medication and better ability to enjoy a fun dog life over time.
The steps to physical recovery are:
Accurate diagnosis with exam and spine radiographs + any joints that are painful
In some cases, we also recommend an ultrasound or MRI pending results
Reducing the layers of “windup pain” with medications
Shockwave therapy to improve muscle flexibility and relieve pain
In some cases we add stem cell injections or subcutaneously at the same time to reduce needs for medications longer
Rehab exercise to re-engage the core and back muscles
Transition off of pain meds to lowest effective dose and add supplements
Maintain comfort with exercises and shockwave as needed every 3-6 months
Sometimes we add regular acupuncture and laser to this therapy to keep the medications at a minimum
Frequently asked questions:
What should we do to get started?
a. Schedule a consult to see on of our rehab doctors to talk through the options with you and get you started with some home therapy
b. Consider shockwave treatment and/or stem cell therapy
c. Begin rehab to restore tissues, flexibility and comfort x 90 days and then for fitness!
How many times do we need to shockwave?
a. Often: patients do best with 1-2 treatments one month apart and then every 6-12 months but it can be done monthly for palliative care if useful.
Does shockwave hurt? Do they have to be sedated?
a. No, I use a power level that is not painful, however, they do allow more thorough treatment if they have had some mild anti-anxiety medication first, and if they do have really sore hips, if they are sedated we are able to achieve a much more effective hip muscle relaxation.
How long does it take to see results from shockwave and stem cell therapy?
a. Dog are typically improved within the first week with progressive improvement over 4-6 weeks to get them back to play.
What does stem cell therapy add to the plan, why do it?
a. Stem cells provide anti-inflammatory growth factors that you can’t get from any other medication and without causing the side effects that daily pain medications can. They often reduce the needs of bigger medication for up to a year.
Can we just try rehabilitation therapy and exercise first?
a. Yes, after the pain is well managed, these dogs can really improve with some basic building for core and back strength. It can take longer to see results.
