In the practice of veterinary medicine arthritis is the most common disease we are presented with. It is always a challenge to manage each case to provide the safest and most effective modality of pain control. It is our goal to maintain optimal quality of life for each patient. As in humans, arthritis is simply the destruction of cartilage that leads to bone on bone rubbing. This wearing of bone results in degeneration of the joint, inflammation and pain. Arthritis is usually a very subtle disease that begins to affect both cats and dogs. In dogs, we usually think of early clinical signs including loss of muscle, dry cracking sounds when the pet walks, swelling of joints, stumbling and of course limping. In cats, the disease is harder to detect. Most commonly cats will have difficulty jumping up on surfaces they could handle previously, they become more irritable or reclusive, or as a senior cat they are urinating or defecating outside of the box, typically near the box but not in the box. Arthritis in our pets is diagnosed with a thorough exam which includes palpation of the joint, assessment of flexibility, muscle symmetry or loss, and nerve function with a neurologic exam. Assessment of pain in the room can be difficult because many animals are excited or stoic on exam. That assessment will be based on exam, history and typically radiographs that show the boney inflammation that will be present. It is important to realize that successful treatment of arthritis is aimed at both prevention of inflammation as well as prevention of pain. Arthritis is one disease that really benefits from a multiple modality approach as it relates to treatment. Maximal pain and inflammation prevention is always achieved with a combination of medicinal, nutritional, herbal, acupuncture, and chiropractic options. The best combination depends on each pet's disease and personality as well as clients wishes. If you would like to schedule an arthritis evaluation appointment for your pet, we would be happy to assist you. This appointment should be a separate visit from the annual wellness care visit. Please call (734) 971-5800 for an appointment/ consultation.
