As some of you are aware my 8 year old lab has been diagnosed with spondylitis last week,she had been having spasms about 2-3 times a day,she would make a loud yelp and then would not move for about 20 mins.vet prescribed, tramadol SR tabs 2 tabs twice a day.canidryl 2 tabs twice a day,also nutroquin +,went for check up yesterday and he told me to stop the tramadol and only to use if she has pain,her bones have fused together and things are not looking to good,I am at my wits end,as I know what long term anti/flam can do,has anyone had any experience of this awful condition,

Sheila

No experience but would chiropractic be a possibility?  I know you say her bones have fused but it could help keep everything else in alignment as it might be thrown out during spasms and through compensating for pain (e.g. altered gait, holding her body differently to ease pain), and the massage side might help relax the muscles too.  Not quite the same but my old dog had a couple of awful episodes of back spasms when I first got her, chiropractic got everything back in line and really helped no end.

I can ask my dogs' chiro on tuesday if she thinks it might help if you like, she'll be here sorting Paige out :-)

Thanks very much any help with this would be appriciated,I asked my vet about hydro but he didnt think it would do her any good.

Sheila x

Had a dog with spondylitis before - acupuncture helped tremendously :-)

I found hydrotherapy was very good for my dear departed Hamish. After a few sessions he needed no medication at all for about a year and a half with regular hydro visits. Eventually he was on Previcox for the remainder of his life, but I'm convinced the hydrotherapy helped enormously.

Hi Karen,did Hamish go in the pool or on the treadmill,I was also convinced that it helped my Sadie and gave her a good couple of years,will speak to Austin again about this,her spine is in a bad way,she is having 3 shorter walks now,he said excersise is very important

Sheila

My friends dog has this and finds acupuncture a great help along with a Tens machine.

Our older dog (8yo) was diagnosed with mild spondylitis and has responded well to hydrotherapy and a course of Metacam.  She would yelp with pain randomly when rising or when jumping up, but now will happily jump in the car again and is off pain meds.  Oh, and the hydro was in the pool.

Hamish was in the pool. A lot of the work was done on a platform inside the pool. I would say it's very important to go to the "right" hydrotherapy centre. Many are nothing more than glorified swimming pools and the "therapists" have little idea of what they are doing. Malcolm was superb and Hamish loved his sessions.

Not only was the lower part of his spine fused (as your girl) but he had bad hips and general arthritis. I remember the vet telling me after his x-rays that the only "good" part of his body was his right elbow joint :) . He did competitive agility until 9 years of age, which may have helped with his overall muscle tone, and didn't show any signs of the problems until 9 when he became a little stiff, had difficulty getting up from rest and started knocking jumps down.

We do have a good one not far away,staff have trained at Hawksmore,will look more into this as only the best will do for my very sweet angel,its only the meds that are keeping her pain free,I have spoken to a vet specialist and not able to do anything at present as she was speyed last week and all needs to heal,does anyone know of good hydro or accupunture centres in the northwest,

Sheila

In people we see often great results with hydro, acupuncture and TENS-either as a combo or singularly, it's person specific. If non are contraindicated for your dog then I'd certainly give them a try but maybe one at once so you can pinpoint which has the greatest effect (if that make sense!). Acupuncture can sometimes initially make the condition worse but it shows that the body is reacting and hopefully likely to respond well. In people if there's no change after about 4-5 sessions it probably isn't the best treatment for them so something else would be considered. I'm not sure if this is the case for dogs though!

Is it spondylitis (inflammatory cause) or spondylosis ('wear and tear') your dog has as the meds will surely be different and there may be more things for your vet to try?

Spondylitis I think,she has never been a dog that has ran around Jumping ect.

Sheila

I would think any of hydro/acupuncture/TENS Could help and would be worth pursuing. I wouldn't imagine spinal manipulations would a good idea at all if the bones are fused (such as in ankylosing spondylitis in people) due to the risk of fractures but soft tissue manipulation may be very beneficial. Please bear in mind im talking about people not dogs although reasoning would surely be the same?!?!

Will speak to vet today,she is in alot of discomfort this morning,poor girl.
Sheila

> I wouldn't imagine spinal manipulations would a good idea at all if the bones are fused (such as in ankylosing spondylitis in people) due to the risk of fractures

McTimoney chiropractic (the best for dogs) is nothing like traditional human chiropractic - no popping and cracking of joints, it's thorough deep massage first to relax the muscles and then gentle flicks and nudges to put everything back in alignment.  Nothing strong enough to fracture.  With the muscles relaxed the realignments hold better.  I've had both types and McTim is much, much more gentle and works far better for me.

Might be that it won't help the affected bones directly but pain can cause problems elsewhere as the dog (or person) tries to stop it happening and changes posture, and that's when chiropractic can help.

Spoken to Austin,he is making arrangments for her to have acupunture,he said she cant have hydro yet due to her op last week.

Sheila

Yes I'd agree with this - McTimoney seems a lot gentler than the 'regular' chiropractic manips, which I guess is what I kind of meant by the soft tissue stuff being more appropriate.

I had a GSD with spondylosis many years ago, very severe as she got older. I found McTimoney chiro the best for her, though acupuncture did help a little too, I think. She was also on Rimadyl for pain, and we managed as best we could for as long as we could.

Thanks for your comments,Will also ask vet about McTimoney.

Sheila