With A Flick of the Wrist by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD (as seen in Dogs In
Canada – September 2003)

In the hundreds of agility trials I have attended over the years, only
rarely have I seen a dog suffer an acute, serious injury. An exception
happened in early May this year. I was relaxing at ringside, enjoying
one of the rare rain free moments this spring offered, watching a
bi-black Sheltie named 'Shadow' negotiate the Open Jumpers course with
smooth abandon. Suddenly the dog took a misstep, completely misjudged
where he should take off, and crashed into the jump. As he fell, his
front legs landed on the fallen jump bars, and he immediately let out an
agonized scream. He was still crying as he was carried out of the ring.
I ran over to help and examined the dog in a shady area some distance
from the ring.

Shadow's left front leg was extremely painful and he held it stiffly
away from his body. In a few minutes he had relaxed enough for me to
determine that there were no major bone breaks. In fact, the main
problem appeared to be a severe sprain of the carpus (wrist). Later
X-rays not only confirmed my finding, but interestingly showed that the
dog had preexisting arthritic changes in the carpal joints of both front
legs. Thus, although this dog did have an acute agility injury, he had
chronic problems, too. In fact, it is possible that the arthritis
contributed to his lack of coordination in approaching the jump.

Once Shadow was on the mend, his human teammate had many questions for
me. How common is carpal arthritis in performance dogs? How painful is
carpal arthritis and what can be done to relieve the pain? Will Shadow
still be able to play agility, obedience and other fun doggie games?
Since carpal arthritis is quite common, I thought I would share the
answers in this column.

In the last several years, while doing sports-medicine consultations for
performance dogs across Canada and the United States, I have seen many
canine athletes with carpal arthritis. Interestingly, this condition is
much more common in dogs that have had their front dewclaws removed. To
understand why, it is helpful to understand the structure of the carpus.
This joint consists of seven bones that fit together like fieldstones
that are used to build the walls of a house

The carpus joins to the radia and ulnar bones (equivalent to our lower
arm), and to the metacarpal bones (equivalent to our hand). Each bone of
the carpus has a convex or concave side that matches a curve on the
adjacent bone. Unlike the bones of the elbow, for example.

The elbow bones have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves the
bones of the carpus do not have ridges that slide into interlocking
grooves on the adjacent bone. The relatively loose fit of the carpal
bones is supported by ligaments that join each of the carpal bones to
the adjacent bones.

With so many carpal bones that don't tightly interlock with the adjacent
bones, the ligaments of this joint can be easily stretched and even torn
when torque (twisting) is applied to the leg. The dewclaws have the
important function of reducing the torque that is applied to the front
legs, especially when dogs are turning at a canter (the main gait used
in agility).

In the canter, there is a moment during each stride when the dog's
accessory carpal pad (on the back of the carpus) of the lead front leg
touches the ground and the rear legs and other front leg swing forward
to prepare for the next stride. At this point, the dewclaw is in contact
with the ground and if the dog turns, the dewclaw can dig in for extra
traction to prevent unnecessary torque on the front leg. Without the
gripping action of the dog's 'thumbs’ there is more stress on the
ligaments of the carpus. This may cause the ligaments to stretch and
tear over time, resulting in joint laxity and ultimately, arthritis.

There are many more options for treating dogs with arthritis today than
there were just a few years ago. Here are some of them.

1) Weight reduction. The more weight your dog carries around, the more
stress there will be on the joints. This is a particular problem in dogs
with carpal arthritis, because the front legs bear 65 per cent of the
dog's weight.
2) Massage. This is an excellent way to prevent excess scar tissue from
forming and to keep your dog's joints flexible. Make an appointment with
a canine massage therapist and learn how to do massage that is targeted
to your dog's carpi. You can do the massage while you watch television
in the evenings.
Afterward, gently flex and extend your dog's front legs two to three
times to help promote flexibility.
3) Acupuncture. Acupuncture is often very helpful in relieving joint
pain and slowing the progression of arthritis.
4) Chiropractic adjustments. Many dogs with painful joints will benefit
from regular chiropractic adjustments because they are using their
muscles unevenly to avoid pain on one side or the other.
5) Joint-protective nutraceuticals. There are many products on the
market, and all are not created equal, so be sure to buy a product from
a reputable company. For best results use a combination of glucosamine,
chondroitin, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and cetylmyristolate (CM).
6) Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food and supplements. Supplement
his diet with vitamins C, E and B and an appropriate combination of
omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
7) Anti-inflammatory drugs. Talk to your veterinarian about whether'
your dog should be taking antiinflammatory drugs and if so, whether he
should take them only when he is in pain or on a regular basis. Because
of common side effects such as gastric ulcers, I usually suggest that
anti-inflammatory drugs be used only intermittently when the dog is
having a painful bout. There may come a-time however, when regular doses
of anti-inflammatory drugs may be necessary to give your dog the quality
of life he deserves.
8) Moderate ongoing exercise. Dogs with arthritis need enough exercise
to keep their muscles strong so that they support the joints, but not so
much that it causes excessive wear and tear on the joints and the
ligaments that support them.

Moderation is the key. Dogs should get a moderate amount of balanced
exercise each day, and avoid being weekend warriors. Avoid high-impact
exercise as much as possible. For example, don't use stairs as a way to
exercise your dog because of the impact on descending, and don't let him
run over rough, uneven ground.

Have your dog jump full height only about 10 per cent of the time during
training, and only on surfaces that are smooth and appropriately
cushioning, such as thick grass or properly prepared dirt (arena)
surfaces. Swimming is a great exercise for arthritic dogs.

Even if your dog doesn't currently suffer from arthritis, keep this
article for later. If you should be lucky enough to have your canine
companion in his senior years, these tips may make it possible for him
to keep running and playing like a youngster.

"Char" wrote

With A Flick of the Wrist by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD (as seen in Dogs In
Canada – September 2003)

Excellent article! Keep'em coming!