Content
- What is low back pain in dogs?
- Causes for a Dog with Back Pain
- Is there any predisposition for the development of low back pain in dogs?
- Symptoms of a dog with back pain
- Diagnosis of low back pain in dogs
- What to do when the dog has back pain?
Low back pain or low back pain in dogs consists of a painful process located in the lumbosacral region, that is, in the area between the last 3 lumbar vertebrae (L5, L6 and L7) and the sacrum bone (which connects the pelvis to the spine). Can be caused by different processes or diseases, therefore, to have an accurate diagnosis, imaging exams are necessary, but without forgetting a correct neurological evaluation and physical examination. Treatment will depend on the cause.
If you want to better understand this problem and know what to do when the dog has back pain, keep reading this PeritoAnimal article to learn more about low back pain in dogs, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
What is low back pain in dogs?
Low back pain is defined as pain located in the back of the dog's back, near its tail, in the muscles of the dog. lumbosacral region of the canine spine. In addition, low back pain leads to increased tension, tone, and stiffness in the muscles in that area of your body.
This pain appears as a nervous mechanism by activating the nerve pathways that transmit pain and by the development of an inflammatory process and muscle contracture. Sometimes the nerve root can be compressed, causing shock and even spinal cord protrusions and herniated discs. So when we see him in this situation, we often wonder what to do when the dog has back pain. But first, it is necessary to understand its causes and identify precisely the exact region of pain.
Causes for a Dog with Back Pain
The origin of low back pain in dogs can be explained by different processes and diseases. The main causes for having a dog with back pain are:
- Muscle overload.
- Trauma.
- Osteoporosis fracture.
- Shock.
- Arthrosis.
- Advanced age.
- Scoliosis.
- Inflammatory disorders of the vertebrae, infections or tumors.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.
- Lumbar disc herniation.
- Lumbosacral stenosis or cauda equina syndrome.
Is there any predisposition for the development of low back pain in dogs?
On the one hand, although any dog, regardless of breed, sex and age, can develop low back pain throughout life, the truth is that this condition is more frequent in older dogs, due to the natural wear of bones and joints, by age or by osteoarthritis or osteoporosis phenomena. Regarding the sex of the dog, we can have a dog with back pain whether they are male or female.
On the other hand, back pain more often affects the following dog breeds:
- Dachshund or teckel: Due to its long back, this breed is predisposed to suffer from herniated discs.
- french bulldog: you are predisposed to suffer from ankylosing spodylitis.
- Labrador, German Shepherd or other large breeds: are more likely to develop lumbosacral stenosis, also known as cauda equina syndrome.
In short, dogs of chondrodystrophic breeds, that is, those that present long spine and short legs they are more likely to develop herniated discs because of the strain that this particular anatomy produces on the intervertebral discs. On the other hand, large breed puppies are more prone to developing arthrosis in the vertebrae or spondylosis as the years go by.
To know what to do when the dog has back pain, it is necessary to identify the symptoms this type of back pain, which we'll see next.
Symptoms of a dog with back pain
If a dog has low back pain, the following symptoms:
- Uncomfortable.
- Ache.
- Inflammation.
- Muscular contraction.
- Tingling.
- Sensitivity changes.
- Reduced mobility and activity.
- Discomfort.
- Numbness.
- Increased temperature in the area due to inflammation.
- Mood changes.
- Depression.
- Overweight.
The clinical sign that always manifests itself is the pain, especially when there was impact, protrusion, spondylitis or herniated disc. We can detect this pain in the early stages when the dog stops running, has difficulty climbing stairs, walks slower, and generally becomes less active. Afterwards, he will not have so much desire to walk around, will spend a lot of time at rest and, in the most serious cases, will complain with a cry when touched in the region.
Furthermore, we more serious cases as when there is involvement of the spinal cord or herniated disc, the nervous signal may be reduced or disappear, causing paralysis. For this reason, the first thing that should be done when a dog has back pain is to seek a professional to diagnose and ensure the health of our furry friend.
Diagnosis of low back pain in dogs
The diagnosis of low back pain in dogs should be based on a combination of clinical signs, neurological examination and imaging diagnosis, in order to find the specific reason which is causing your dog's spine pain.
Clinical signs can localize the lesion in the posterior region of the back, and together with a complete neurological analysis with verification of spinal reflexes, sensation and responses, the lesion can be located in the spinal segments of the lumbosacral region (L4 -S3).
O diagnostic imaging, specifically the radiography, will allow us to observe the aspect of the vertebrae in the region, in order to observe characteristic alterations of ankylosing spondylitis, alterations indicative of infection or inflammation or other causes that can be observed by this imaging technique.
However, to get a accurate and definitive diagnosis of what is happening to your dog, you will need to use advanced imaging techniques such as MRI or CT.
What to do when the dog has back pain?
Treatment for a dog with back pain will depend on the original cause. However, medications are always used to reduce pain and discomfort, such as anti-inflammatories. Also, something that comforts dogs is the application of heat to the area, such as with thermal bags or thoracolumbar thermal supports that also serve as protection for the affected region.
On the other hand, rehabilitation and physiotherapy are excellent for low back pain problems in dogs and, especially, after surgical operations, to improve recovery and obtain better results. The surgery, in turn, will be limited to the most serious cases that have surgical solution, as well as herniated discs that compress the spinal cord and for which conservative therapy is not enough.
Furthermore, due to reduced mobility, overweight and obesity must be prevented with proper rationsfor weight loss, and offering only the necessary feed, according to your specific conditions.
we summarize then what to do when the dog has back pain:
- Take him to a veterinarian for diagnosis.
- Among the remedies that can be given are anti-inflammatory
- Apply heat to the area
- Physiotherapy
- Offer him adequate rations for weight loss
Now that you've seen what to do when your dog has back pain, maybe the following video might interest you. In it we explain the reasons for having a staggering dog:
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Dog with Back Pain - Causes and Treatment, we recommend that you enter our Other health problems section.