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Animal Health > Effective Treatments for Canine Hip Dysplasia
By J.R. Rogers
What is hip dysplasia?
Canine hip dysplasia
(CHD) is a genetic, painful,
crippling disease that causes a dog's
hip to weaken, deteriorate, and
become arthritic. It is a congenital
condition and is the leading cause of
lameness occurring in the rear legs
of dogs. CHD is common in dogs,
particularly in certain large and
giant breeds, although smaller dogs
and cats can suffer from the
condition as well. Hip dysplasia it
is usually and genetically
transferred inherited trait. However,
it can occur in dogs whose parents do
not have Canine hip dysplasia.
The signs of Canine
hip dysplasia are:
- Difficulty
getting up from a lying or
sitting position or in
climbing stairs.
- Moving
both rear legs together while
walking
- A
painful reaction to extension
of the rear legs
- Dropping
of pelvis after pushing on
rump
- A
stilted gait or pelvic swing
while walking
- An
aversion to touch
- A
change in behavior
- Whining
- Reluctance
to walk, climb stairs, jump,
or play
- Lameness
after strenuous exercise
- Hunching
of back to avoid extending
the hips when standing
It is
very important to understand that the
only way to accurately diagnose CHD
is through X-rays. The above symptoms
may also be seen in dogs with normal
hips and affected dogs may display
none of these symptoms at all.
Literally,
hip dysplasia means "badly
formed hip". In order to
understand this complex problem it is
first necessary to understand the
anatomy of the canine hip. This ball
and socket joint consists of two
basic parts - the acetabulum and the
femur. The femur, or thigh bone,
consists of the head (the ball) and
the neck (the part of the femur that
joins the long shaft of the bone to
the head). The acetabulum forms the
socket part of the joint and it is
into this socket that the head of the
femur rests.
In
unaffected dogs there is a good fit
between ball and socket. However, if
ligaments fail to hold the round knob
at the head of the thighbone in place
in the hip socket the result is a
loose, unstable joint, in which the
ball of the femur slides free of the
hip socket. Swelling, fraying and
rupture of the round ligament
follows. This laxity causes excessive
wear on the cartilage in the hip
joint, eventually resulting in
arthritis.
The Treatments for
Hip Dysplasia
If you have a pet with
hip dysplasia, there is hope. There
are many treatments. However, you
must be careful which treatments you
use. Many treatments can actually do
more harm than good for your pet.
Upon a
visit to a veterinarian and a
diagnosis of hip dysplasia, the first
thing recommended is often
painkillers such as non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs. While these
do reduce pain, they do nothing to
treat your pet's actual disease.
These pain relievers, while they do
stop the pain, do not help the hip
dysplasia or the arthritis one bit.
Furthermore, they have very severe
side effects ranging from liver and
kidney failure to gastrointestinal
bleeding. In addition, new research
done on NSAIDs has shown that they
can actually slow cartilage repair
and accelerate cartilage destruction.
In
severe cases, a vet may recommend
surgery for your pet. However,
surgery is a very expensive and
dramatic procedure, and your pet,
while his or her pain may be reduced,
will never be able to play and jump
like they used to.
There is an alternative to these dangerous
painkillers and surgery.
Recommended
Treatments
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.
For
more information on a pharmaceutical
grade liquid glucosamine formula that
contains all of the above recommended
ingredients and is a highly effective
treatment for canine Hip Dysplasia.
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