Cruciate Ligament

Joint stability in the stifle (or true knee) is maintained via 4 ligaments which criss cross over to give the knee support, flexibility and movement.

A common injury in this area is the rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament which means that the ligament has been torn or in some cases severed from its point of attachment to the bone making the leg weak, lame and unstable. Other injuries to the cruciate involve tearing of the cranial cruciate ligament which while not as severe as a full rupture still carries with it debilitating effects and leads to instability, lameness and an inability to fully weight bear on the affected leg.

Signs that your dogs cruciate ligament is damaged include:

Lameness/Limping
Unwilling to weight bear on affected leg
Semi flexed leg with only the toes on the ground
Sitting with affected leg abducted out
Swollen stifle joint
Yelping in pain

Your vet will be able to correctly diagnose if your dogs cruciate ligament has been damaged.

Surgery for this ailment (of which there are several types including the popular TPLO or Tibial Plateau Leveling Ostectomy and Extra Capsular Repair) is the suggested treatment. But what happens after surgery?

Massage can significantly improve your dogs recovery after operation helping them to get back on their feet quicker and better than if they don` have massage.

Massage Therapy can help your dog:

Speed up the recovery time after operation
Minimise pain
Makes there recuperation time more comfortable
Minimises areas of overcompensation eg: unnecessary thickening of neck and shoulder muscles which will be detrimental to their -
mobility
Helps to get your dog walking again with improved mobility
Encourages your dog to use all of their legs equally
Enables your dog to weight bear more comfortably
Helps to strengthen the affected leg
Reduces and minimizes areas of overcompensation and pain referral eg: if your dogs cruciate ligament is affected on their back left
quite typically they will overcompensate on the asymmetrical on the front right, sometimes manifesting as front leg lameness

PLEASE REMEMBER

The Canine Massage Therapy Centre concentrates on results driven clinical massage to get your dog as good as they possibly can be!

Recuperation Time and Hints for better recuperation

2-3 weeks of complete rest
Then 6 weeks of lead exercise
Then 6 weeks of limited exercise
Careful diet (post operative dogs are prone to weight gain due to less exercise)
Sensible exercise afterwards i.e.: no stick or ball chasing under any circumstances!
Put down runners or rugs over laminate or wooden floor to give your dog grip
Prevent them from jumping on/off sofa
Prevent them from jumping in/out of car
Regular massage therapy
Swimming
Minimise food treats
AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES NO BALL OR STICK CHASING!

Your dog will naturally start to use their good leg more, shifting weight onto the unaffected leg. Unfortunately this means that quite often the added pressure on the good leg mean that it is prone to cruciate damage and possibly tear or rupture within 12 months following the initial surgery. It is therefore incredibly important that you try to get your dog using their legs properly as soon as possible.

By using massage from an early point after the operation the dog is encouraged to use the legs equally, we concentrate on building muscle to stabilize the leg and increasing the mobility of the affected leg to minimize damage to the good leg. This is what we call muscular balancing which removes added pressure from the â€˜good leg, meaning that your dog can recover quicker and get back to a normal life as soon as possible.