Understanding Joint Health

Nobody knows your pet like you do. You are the most important element when it comes to recognizing joint health in your pet. Have you noticed any of the following in your pet's behavior:

Are they slow getting up from a resting position?
Do they have trouble getting in the car or up the stairs?
Are they much slower on recent walks?
Are they sensitive to touch and become aggressive?

Recognizing the Signs:

The key is to look for a change of behavior in your pet. Need for joint health support will become more apparent as time goes on.

It is important to observe pets closely:

Decreased activity?
Reluctance to walk, run, jump or play?
Lagging behind on walks?
Stiffness?
Limping?
Difficulty rising from a resting position?
Soreness when touched?
Acting aggressive or withdrawn?
Exhibiting other personality changes?

If you notice any of these changes, consult your veterinarian. The sooner the condition is recognized, the sooner your pet can be active again!

Understanding Joint Anatomy:

To understand arthritis, one must become familiar with the anatomy of a healthy functioning joint. Let's start off with understanding the joint capsule. The joint capsule is a thick fibrous tissue that connects the bones, provides the outer layer of the joint and holds the fluid inside the joint cavity. The muscles serve to support the joint capsule and to provide joint movement. The tendon is an elastic cord that attaches the muscle to the bone and assist with movement. The synovial membrane is the inner lining of the joint capsule. It is highly vascularized and therefore is responsible for carrying nutrients to the joint and most importantly, producing the synovial fluid.

The synovial fluid is a clear viscous fluid that lubricates the joints. It consists of blood plasma and hyaluronic acid. Without it, joint movement would be limited and articular cartilage becomes vulberable. The cartilage covers the ends of the bones and absorbs most of compression and stress in the joint. Because it is a slippery material, it allows the joints to move smoothly and easily.

Overall, the parts of the joint have to work together, but the two most important parts are the synovial fluid which provides the lubrication for the joint and the cartilage, which absorbs the stress. When these two are damaged, problems are unavoidable.

How Vets Recognize Problems:

Joint disorders can be very difficult to recognize. Your veterinarian will have his own protocol, but listed below are some of the tools that you and your vet might use.

First your vet will evaluate the case history of your pet. As part of this backgrounding your vet may ask you several questions about your pet's care and activities to determine a potential cause of the joint problem.
Next your vet will do a physical examination of your pet. This usually involves palpating the areas of concern. Most vets are very skilled with their hands and can often feel if a joint is inflamed and swollen.
The veterinarian will inspect your pet at a walk and a run. They will walk them in a straight line watching for any lameness.
Your veterinarian may perform a flexion test. This is done by bending the joint and holding for at least one minute and then released. After the joint is released, the pet is observed while walking and running. Often times this will exaggerate the lameness and make it more clearly visible during activity.
It may be necessary to perform a radiographic x-ray examination to get a visual representation of what may be causing the lameness.
Your veterinarian may remove by needle some of the synovial fluid located in the joint to determine if an infection is present.

Deterring Joint Problems:

Older pets have a variety of lameness problems due to a number of environmental stressors, but you can help relieve some of these stresses by:

Avoiding obesity and heavy loads
Providing your pet with suitable bedding
Avoiding quick changes in duration or intensity of exercise
Avoiding hard and unstable ground surfaces
Feeding a diet high in protein and other nutrients. Joints can never heal or become stronger without proper nutrition.

In Summary...

Pet owners should become very familiar with recognizing joint health in their pets. Because joint problems are progressive, acting early can give your pet a better chance at getting back to their normal activities such as walking and running. Often times injury to the joint is far past repair and it is quite likely that the animal will never regain normal movement.

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