Bilateral Osteochondrosis Dissecans Of The Humeral Head (shoulder)

[Erny]

Brilliant thanks. Think we only have underwater treadmill in Auckland, so a little far for us to commute, but will PM Kimjm about physio.

Apart from the travel making it a bit awkward, do you know how much it costs to use?

We have one near us, but it is $55.00 a 'go' whether that be for 5 minutes or more. I thought it would be good for my boy but opted for a drive to the beach and walking in chest height water. A lot cheaper, even though the drive is 45 minutes each way and even though it can be awkward timing to follow tides and being subject to weather conditions.

I'm sorry, Staranais - I'm not meaning to go off topic and I do think about you and your girl and wondering how things are going. It's just that I know nothing about your girl's condition and consequently have nothing worthwhile to contribute.

I do wish the best for you both though and am hoping for the best possible outcome for your girl.

[Staranais]

Your contributions are always helpful, Erny, and besides, it's just nice to have somewhere to vent when I'm feeling worried. I'm sure people in the "real world" get sick of hearing about my broken dog.

No idea how much the hydrotherapy would be - the sea idea is a good one, but I wonder if perhaps the warmth of the hydrotherapy pool is part of what helps the healing?

Perhaps I need to make friends with someone with a spa pool!

[Erny]

No idea how much the hydrotherapy would be - the sea idea is a good one, but I wonder if perhaps the warmth of the hydrotherapy pool is part of what helps the healing?

In your instance, quite possibly. In my boy's case, it was for building muscle at his back end - there was no injury to heal.

Perhaps it is time you had a "swim-spa" installed. You could both use it then .

Claim it on your "Veterinary Educational Tools" account or something? :D

Edited April 18, 2010 by Erny

[Rottifan]

So, yesterday my lovely 11 month old malinois girl was diagnosed with OCD in both shoulders.

We're gutted - we were really careful with her exercise, with not letting her jump anything, with what we were feeding, with how fast we grew her, we gave her glucosamine and fish oil as she was growing, etc. The breeder did her parents' hips and elbows, and they were all good, although didn't radiograph shoulders (as is normal, I think). I've been thinking back, and just can't think what we could have done differently.

But anyway, we've got a team of lovely specialists on board to help us at my vet school, and I'm busy applying for big big loans to help with the potential surgeries ahead of us.

What I'm here to ask is, has anyone had any success with alternative therapies to help with the healing of these lesions?

She's already being stuffed full of glucosamine, MSM, fish oil, until she practically rattles.

Hi there, no idea if this is anything similar but my 7yr old rotti was diagnosed with 'severe elbow displaysia' and my vet was wonderful. They started him off on Metacam which saw his limping subside although it returned about a month after that commenced. Injections, fish oil, sasha's blend, glucosamine didnt make any difference with my boy unfortunately although I kept it up 'just in case', in hope. After the limping came back my vet perscribed (in addition to the Metacam) daily gabapentin/neurontin and tramil. I think the idea was explained to flood the body with pain relief!

My vet suggested I try acupuncture for pain relief - I tried a vet who did acupunture with the little needles although after a few sessions i didnt notice any difference. My boy was good through the first couple of treatments and then the last one he figeted and thought it was a big game, moving around so much it made it near impossible to keep the needles in and do what the vet wanted to do!

My hydrobath lady said to try an animal chiropractor and at that point I was prepared to try anything at all although I had been a firm 'science only' believer in treatments - got to see it to believe it kind of thing. The chiro had apparently worked on police dogs so it gave the recommendation some strength for me. Operations were not an option for my dog due to rehabilitation afterwards and other reasons the surgeon described.

After several treatments by the chiro (jamieson in brisbane) I weaned my boy slowly off medication and since then he has been on no medication and not limped at all. He is now 9 and a half.

I wish you luck!