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Animal Health > Effective Treatments for Feline Hip Dysplasia
What is feline hip dysplasia?
Hip dysplasia is an inherited trait
involving multiple gene pairs - it is
not congenital (meaning an animal is
not born with it). The condition
develops over time from instability
in the hip joint which results from
an improper fit of the femoral head
(ball-like structure) into the
acetabulum (hip socket). This
instability, called hip joint laxity,
results in abnormal weight bearing
within the hip joint. From this,
secondary changes and remodeling
occur in an effort to stabilize the
joint or avoid bone-on-bone contact.
When cartilage disintegrates, from
abnormal wear, the femoral head and
acetabulum rub together with every
step causing pain and eventual
osteoarthritis.
1. Femur
2. Femoral Head (ball like structure)
3. Acetabulum (hip socket)
What are the symptoms
of feline hip dysplasia?
It has been suggested
that cats with feline hip dysplasia
(FHD) are not in pain. Well, unless
you can talk directly to your cat,
and he can answer you, how can you
know for sure? Cats are rather stoic
creatures and it is speculated that
they hide or mask their pain well.
Out in the wilds if a cat showed pain
by limping or moving slowly, he would
appear vulnerable and be an immediate
target for predators. Our domestic
cats are still driven by natural
instincts that tell them NOT to limp
or not to move too slowly. There may
be a gradual decrease in certain
movements or particular activities
that cause pain. For example, a cat
in pain may not jump as high as
usual, or it may move more and more
slowly over time. These may be
symptoms that most people simply
would not notice or would attribute
to other things. The gradual lack of
movement may go undetected until one
day - perhaps years from the onset of
pain - the disease has progressed so
that it becomes quite obvious with
limping, not climbing, not jumping or
the inability to go up stairs. Even
then, because onset has been so
gradual and there was not a drastic
change in behavior from one day to
the next some people may still not
realize there is a problem.
Recommended
Treatments for feline hip dysplasia
More progressive veterinarians who
are knowledgeable about recent
studies, clinical trials, and
overwhelmingly positive patient
response will know that glucosamine
is a very promising treatment for hip
dysplasia.
Glucosamine is an over-the-counter
dietary supplement that has been
shown to be effective in the
treatment of hip dysplasia,
osteoarthritis, and joint pain in
both pets and humans. Glucosamine
stimulates the production of
glycosaminoglycans (GAG's), important
proteins found in cartilage and
proteoglycans, the water holding
molecules that make up the cartilage.
Used in the correct form and quality,
glucosamine has been shown to not
only treat pain, but also
rehabilitate damaged cartilage.
Furthermore, glucosamine is safe to
use and does not have any of the side
effects associated with NSAIDs.
How To Select A
Glucosamine Product
Glucosamine products differ greatly.
While one may work wonders for your
pet, another may do absolutely
nothing. Your selection of a
glucosamine product should be based
on five factors.
You
must consider the quality of
glucosamine, method of delivery to
body, additional ingredients in the
product, and of course price.
Simply
put, the higher quality of
glucosamine you use, the greater the
relief to your pet will be. Many
companies use medium grade
glucosamine so you must be careful to
look for the highest quality.
Pharmaceutical grade glucosamine is
the highest quality of glucosamine.
You should only consider products
that use glucosamine which is
pharmaceutical grade.
Secondly,
the method of delivery can make the
difference between no pain relief and
complete pain relief. Most products
produced after the breakthrough news
of the 1999 Lancet Medical Journal
glucosamine study were rushed to the
market. In this haste, these
companies did not take any time to do
tests on their product. They simply
assumed pill form would be the most
effective. The latest research
however, has shown that glucosamine
in liquid form is much more
effective. In selecting a glucosamine
product, you should look for one that
is liquid form.
Also
crucial to the effectiveness of the
product is the other ingredients that
are included in the product.
Glucosamine alone, for most people,
is not a cure all. To receive truly
complete relief you need to look for
products that combine a number of
arthritis fighting ingredients. You
should look for a product that
besides glucosamine sulfate and
glucosamine HCL, also contains
arthritis-fighting ingredients such
as chondroitin, Boswellin,
bromelaine, omega 3 & 6, yucca,
manganese ascorbate, and vitamins A,
C, and E.
Our recommendation for treating arthritis
in animals is a liquid
Glucosamine.
References:
1. FHDA: The Feline Hip Dysplasia Association
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