Muscle Injury

[Kaffy Magee]

My young Bullmastiff boy has been lame for quite some time, front left. I have crate rested initially when I had time off work and it improved but then got worse again. I had his hips and elbows xrayed and asked them to check his shoulder as well, all clear, but the vet said when he was under and on his back his shoulder dropped considerably compared to the other one, which indicated it may be a torn muscle. He suggested more resting but to take him back if it doesnt improve. Admittedly, he has only been penned, either outside or inside with me, so he is not running around and playing with the other dogs, however I have not crated him (except over night). I hate doing it, especially while Im at work all day and to make it worse I have no air con inside. But Im resigned to the fact that Im going to have to. I have the Bullmastiff Specialty coming up in May ( which I understand he may not have recovered fully by then) and also the Nationals in June, which of course Id like to show him at. Is there anything I can give him to aid in muscle recovery whilst he is crated and would taking him to a physio or bowen therapist be beneficial at this stage? If so, can anyone recommend one in QLD.

Cheers,KM

Edited March 17, 2014 by Kaffy Magee

[Wabbit]

I would strongly recommend a specialist animal physiotherapist.

I had a young dog who tore his gluteals, strained his SIJ and also T4-5. I went through the whole gamut of crate rest, chiro, laser/acupuncture, bowen/massage, tried Canine Vital Rosehip supplement etc. At the 3.5 month mark the chiro said he was all good, and sent us on our way... but he just wasn't right, and started going backwards again. I was devastated, and kept looking for answers. At 4 month mark, I found a specialist animal physiotherapist group www.k9physio.com - I wish I'd found Helen at the very beginning. After being under their care for 8 weeks now, with fortnightly appointments,(now at the 6 month mark since injury), he's a different dog. Not 100% yet, but not far off. I also changed chiros, and much happier with the new one.

We just returned from a large interstate specialty where he physically coped ok with the travel, showed his socks off (tells me he feels good in himself) and placed :) His coat is glossy, his eyes sparkle, and he's feeling good about life again.

You have to do exercises and work at it every day, but its well worth it.

They're in Sydney, and do consults out of ARH Homebush, but I believe they also do online-type consults for patients not in Sydney.

Good luck. I understand how you feel.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Wabbit

[cavNrott]

My dog has a very painful shoulder. I fould a Myotherapist to treat her. The shoulder muscle was very tight and I could easily feel the hard knots. My poor girl had been in pain for some time with this shoulder.

The myotherapy was successful and she enjoyed her sessions. My beloved but silly, hyperactive dog surprised me by lying perfectly still whilst the myotherapist worked on her. After a few myotherapy sessions she had no further problems with her shoulder.

[Dogsfevr]

I have used Bowen for years with great results ,the person i use is excellent though i have used others who where crap but you need to address issues quickly before muscle wastage & the other body parts taking up the slack & its harder to recover from.

There is no quick fix im my opinion you can certainly supplement to help long term outlook but the recovery for an injury is patience,recovery work & building things up .

[ness]

Physio might be worth looking into. If your going the crate route then I was also told a steroid injection can be valuable if its something like a bicep tendonitis related issue. I opted for a PRP treatment x 2 with my girl and her bicep tendonitis case. She also had on-going physio treatment.

Edited March 17, 2014 by ness

[Erny]

Contact Ross Wilson of Coburg Health & Nutrition. I'm sure he'll be able to assist. This is the person I go to via hair-DNA analysis and herbal supplementation (for me, my Mum and for my dog). 03 9354 8007. Tell him Judi (and her dog "Mandela") sent you. :)

[Guest Ams]

Askari my Shar Pei received a significant tear injury to the muscles in her shoulder and chest area. She underwent repeated cycles of cortisone, resting and crating but as soon as I started trying to take her for a walk around the block or do any sort of training with her it would flare up and she would be limping again. At my vets' recommendation I took her to Animal Options and she underwent one session of Biomesotherapy. I didn't understand it then and really don't understand it now but it worked wonders and she made a remarkable recovery and didn't have any further major setbacks although she would occasionally come up sore if she jumped off something and jarred her shoulder.

http://www.animaloptions.com.au/

[2boxer]

Did your vet rule out panosteitis? My boy had forelimb lameness that would improve then get worse over a period of time which started around 6 months. My reg vet thought the X-rays were clear but sent them for a specialist opinion and he was diagnosed with panosteitis. Just a thought..

[cavNrott]

Did your vet rule out panosteitis? My boy had forelimb lameness that would improve then get worse over a period of time which started around 6 months. My reg vet thought the X-rays were clear but sent them for a specialist opinion and he was diagnosed with panosteitis. Just a thought..

Panosteitis usually alternates from limb to limb and is found in young dogs. If a pup shows lameness in one front leg and then it swaps over to the other that would probably indicate Pano.

I hope your boy is ok now.

[2boxer]

Thanks! His never swapped legs but he never did anything normal!

[Kaffy Magee]

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been back before now. I took him to the vet who referred me to a specialist. The specialist was thinking it may be infraspinatus tendon contracture or the bicep tendon. She couldnt do any diagnostics on the day but is pushing for an mri at about $2000 or athroscopy at $3500-$4000. I simply dont have that money at the moment. She said there were other things we could do but they might not show anything and then Id have to do the more expensive anyway. I asked about ultrasound but apparently the person that does it at the clinic has not done enough in that area to be confident enough to do it. Apparently its a very tricky area and hard to get around it, so the specialist is really pushing for the MRI. The good news is she doesn't think hes in pain so suggested I wait and save up the money. Not sure what to do, whether its worth finding someone who is experienced enough to do the ultrasound or if Id just be wasting my money, which I dont really have to begin with lol. Has anyone had any experience with something like this before?

[ness]

I don't think an MRI is value for money if you are going to have to go ahead and do something anyway. Scoping the joint is a possibility as at least they can diagnose and treat the condition at the same time. Have you been offered the option of a cortisone injection? They can apparently do that once to see if it helps resolve things but you then need to rest the dog for a significant length of time.

Edited April 14, 2014 by ness