Hip Dysplasia: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention





by Robert Mueller





I have a friend that has recently come to me with an ailing 9-year-old yellow Labrador retriever that has hip dysplasia. I have tried to convince him for years to make the switch to the BARF diet but he was convinced that Purina was a better choice for his dog.



Now that his dog is 30 pounds overweight and can’t get up on his own four feet anymore, my friend is now looking to me for a “miracle diet” to reverse his poor dog’s condition. Unfortunately, the chance of reversing this condition after the joint has been so severely damaged is marginal at best.



In hopes of helping others out there avoid the pain and heartache of seeing their own companion animals suffer through this condition, I’ve decided to focus this week’s issue of “The Intelligent Pet” about this common pet problem.





DID YOU KNOW?



The cost of treating your dog’s hip dysplasia could run around $7,800.



That’s the equivalent of 3,120 patties of the BARF Diet, which would last a 65 lb. Labrador retriever for over three years!



When you factor in all the various health benefits that a raw diet provides your dog (such as clean teeth, increased energy, silky coat, trim figure, healthy digestion, and a great quality of life) and that a raw diet helps to prevent hip dysplasia in your pet by supporting your puppy’s steady growth and weight, it’s easy to choose where you would rather your money go.

It has been reported that almost 25% of dogs visiting veterinary practices are diagnosed with musculoskeletal disorders. While dogs both large and small can develop hip dysplasia, it is much more common in large and giant breed dogs.



Breeds that demonstrate the highest incidence of this disorder include:

Great Danes

Labrador Retrievers

Newfoundlands

Rottweilers Canine hip dysplasia is the most frequently encountered orthopedic disease in veterinary medicine. This condition is considered a polygenic trait, which means that more than one gene controls the inheritance of this condition. As such, pre-disposition to this illnesses in specific breeds of dogs is worrisome at best.



Instead, when considering the purchase of a large breed puppy, one must be diligent to raise that puppy in such a manner as to reduce the possibility for skeletal disorders.

What Causes Hip Dysplasia? Primarily in large breed dogs, the onset of hip dysplasia is usually associated with periods of rapid growth - between 3 to 9 months of age. Therefore, it is best to understand what causes this accelerated growth rate.







Feeding a dog a very high-calorie diet loaded with carbohydrates and synthetic nutrients can exacerbate a predisposition to hip dysplasia, because the rapid weight gain places increased stress on the hips. Excessive weight gain during this period renders a higher frequency and more severe degenerative change in large breed dogs. The extra weight greatly multiplies the large breed dog’s genetic potential for hip dysplasia.



Dogs that are allowed to eat as much as they want anytime they want (known as free-feeding) also grow significantly faster than dogs that are fed restricted amounts of food. This escalated rate of growth during puppyhood can cause the body to develop erratically and make your puppy more susceptible to hip dysplasia.



In addition, supplementation of certain nutrients might reverse the important calcium/phosphorus balance in the body, which also plays a part in the skeletal formation process. This refers specifically to calcium supplements.



Many professional breeders encourage new puppy owners to routinely supplement their pet’s diet with calcium during the entire first year of life for prophylactic measure. While they may mean well, this can actually create skeletal issues in your pet as well as produce deficiencies in other nutrients. In this instance, the risk of added supplementation of calcium does not outweigh the benefits.



Another factor that influences the condition is inappropriate exercise. During the period of rapid growth, young dogs should be discouraged from jumping up and down (such as jumping up to catch a ball), and from standing up on their back legs. Also running on pavement should be eliminated.

Symptoms Of A Dysplasic Hip The hip joint is a “ball-and-socket” joint. The ball is the head of the femur and the socket is the acetabulum of the pelvis. In a dysplastic joint, the head of the femur fits loosely into a poorly developed, shallow acetabulum. In severe cases, the head of the femur is completely out of the joint and arthritic changes are marked. Joint instability and wear occurs as muscular development lags behind the rate of skeletal growth.



The age of onset hip dysplasia is 4 to 12 months of age. The affected puppy will show pain in the hip, walk with a limp or a swaying gait, and experience difficulty in the hindquarters when getting up. When placed on his back, the puppy will show pain and discomfort when the rear legs are extended into a frog-like position.





Diagnosis And Treatment A proper diagnosis can only be accomplished with an x-ray of the hips and pelvis. A major problem with performing an x-ray is that the dog will be required to be under heavy sedation or anesthesia, which carries its own set of risks. If you do opt to carry out the test, the x-ray will allow your veterinarian to grade the severity of your pet’s hip dysplasia, which ranges from mild to severe. The diagnosis depends on the placement of the head of the femur into the acetabulum. Once the condition is this severe, it cannot be reversed. Lameness is unpredictable and can be present or not noticed.



There are some procedures that can give your pet some relief for the pain. These include acupuncture, veterinary skeletal chiropractic adjustments, massage, hydrotherapy, and if required, pain medication.

Acupuncture and Acupressure Many pet owners have touted acupuncture as a great means to help relieve chronic pain from hip dysplasia. This ancient form of Chinese has no negative side effects and it is a good treatment method to try to provide your pet some comfort and improve their mobility.



Acupressure is similar to acupuncture except that instead of using needles, the practitioners hands, elbows and knees are used to maintain light pressure on the same meridian points that are used in acupuncture. Acupressure is easier for those that wish to perform at-home treatments for their ailing pet. There are a variety of books and how-to videos out there to help you get started. Just make sure to consult with your veterinarian before you start to attempt this treatment yourself.

Chiropractic Care When the hips are in bad shape, the rest of the body will often overcompensate to relieve the damaged joint. After a while, this unbalanced distribution of weight can cause your pet’s spine to misalign. That’s why regular visits to the chiropractor are a good idea for your pet to help rectify this and prevent further issues down the road.

Massage A licensed massage therapist can help improve your pet’s stiff and aching limbs and reduce discomfort from hip dysplasia. Many people also swear by massage therapy to help those suffering from arthritis and muscle strain.

Hydrotherapy When your pet’s hips are damaged, one of the most important things to regulate is your dog’s body weight. Excess weight on your pet will put added stress on the hips and cause increased pain. This often causes your pet to become more sedentary which only exuberates the condition. Hydrotherapy offers your pet a low impact form of exercise, helping to promote mobility and weight loss as well as to reduce the stiffness in the muscles and joints.

Pain Medication Use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other anti-inflammatory drugs can help to temporarily relieve pain but are not recommended for prolonged use. These strong pain medicines put excess stress on the liver and can cause a variety of other negative side effects.



A safer alternative to NSAIDs is the use of homeopathic pain relievers. Here are two that we recommend:

For topical relief try Organic Lavender Noni Lotion from Hawaiian Health Ohana.

from Hawaiian Health Ohana. For internal use, Traumeel from Heel USA is great. These two products are non-invasive and have been reported by our customers to be the most effective remedies for muscle and joint pain.

Prevention Is Key Research studies have indicated that nutrition plays an important role in preventing and treating this condition. Studies have shown that approximately 60% of all influencing factors for hip dysplasia are environmental in nature – one of those factors being what we feed out pets. The nutritional influence on this condition is the reason why our clients seek the help of a raw meat diet.

Feeding a balanced, biologically appropriate diet that supports steady growth and reduces the obesity factors is critical to the prevention of hip dysplasia.







Robert Mueller, BSc, Pharm. is a registered pharmacist, author of "Living Enzymes: The World's Best Kept Pet Food Secret", and co-developer of BARF World's BARF diets patties, nuggets and supplements - the first company to make the Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods (BARF) diet conveniently available to animals everywhere. He and his wife love to travel around the world with their dog, Moxie - a Yorkshire Terrier/Maltese mix. For more articles like these and to learn more about the benefits of raw food for your pets, sign up for "The Intelligent Pet" monthly e-zine at barfworld.com/ezine