Arthritis in Dogs More Common Than We Think
A recently published study found that a lot of dogs without any known history of joint disease have undiagnosed osteoarthritis. Researchers found evidence of arthritis in dogs by checking them in various ways while they were getting dental care. It’s a small study, but still interesting.
Study Overview
Essentially researchers at the veterinary school in Tennessee checked 30 dogs — ages 4 to 10 — who were onsite for routine dental cleanings to see if they had signs of arthritis not yet diagnosed. Their strategies included the following:
Orthopedic examination by a board-certified surgeon
Force plate analysis – which measures the dogs walking across a device that evaluates their stride and weight distribution
Sedated x-rays of the dogs’ shoulders, hips, knees, and tiny bones in their front and back feet
- In order for the force plate analysis to work, the dogs needed to weigh at least 24 pounds, so smaller dogs were not represented.
- Also, dogs with short legs and long bodies were also excluded. Think Dachshunds, Corgis, Basset Hounds, and French Bulldogs.
- Researchers did not include dogs with any systemic diseases, those who had any prior orthopedic surgeries, or those already diagnosed with arthritis.
What They Found
Ooph. The news isn’t good.
- 60% of the dogs (18 of 30) had x-ray evidence of arthritis in 1 or more joints.
- Of those dogs, 89% had evidence of arthritis in 2 or more joints.
The signs of arthritis were more common in rear legs compared to front legs.
The most common spot for arthritis in dogs in this study was in the hip joint — with researchers finding x-ray evidence of hip arthritis in 37% of dogs.
The relatively low results for knee pain from arthritis is likely because dogs with cruciate rupture noticeably limp and are in pain, so they would have been excluded from the study as pre-existing.
Not Just X-rays
Researchers also found evidence of arthritis in dogs from noticeable differences upon physical exam and from lameness evaluations.