Happy March!

This month I want to discuss chronic pain of osteoarthritis and my experience managing pain in my patients as well in my own pets.

Osteoarthritis can cause subtle signs of discomfort and does not normally present with your pet crying in pain. Signs of osteoarthritis may slowly start and could appear as hesitation to jump on the bed, changes in personality (more grumpy with other pets), eating too much or too little, sleeping more, or reluctance to take walks. The pain of osteoarthritis may fluctuate with the weather patterns and can worsen after an abnormally long walk.

Last year I shared a story about my dog Timmy, who became non-weight bearing secondary to an arthritis flare. We used all the available treatments to get him back to weight bearing and comfortable again. I am happy to share that a year later he continues to be very comfortable on maintenance medications and therapies.

If you recall, we did take radiographs to help us determine the severity of his osteoarthritis. In addition to the exam findings, radiographs can help us to stage and begin the proper amount of interventions for his osteoarthritis. This may include laser therapy, shockwave therapy, or joint injections followed by rehabilitation exercises and underwater treadmill sessions.

Timmy will always have arthritis, but I will monitor his pain level and treat as we need. For those of your pets with arthritis, this is also why we are here to help. There may be times where we need to increase the treatment plan to get things under control, but then we will back off and let your pets live their best life.

If you feel your pet may be suffering from osteoarthritis, we are happy to help by evaluating your pets. Not only dogs, but cats too can benefit from rehabilitation modalities and supplements to ease the pain of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis requires a multimodal management plan including: weight loss, supplements, anti-inflammatories, pain medications, physical rehabilitation modalities, and therapeutic exercises. We may need to use joint injections to quiet a joint down or refer a patient for surgical consult if our conservative treatment plan does not work.

When our pet’s are diagnosed with osteoarthritis the most common mistake is decreasing all exercise due to pain of movement. The lack of motion increases the stiffness of the joints and promotes atrophy or muscle loss from disuse. Pain should be reduced first using a multimodal approach, then we will begin low impact workouts. Short, frequent leash walks can help to move arthritic joints to help break down scar tissue that has developed from inactivity. These walks can make a huge difference in pain management of your arthritic pet.

With treatment your pets can live a happy and healthy life even with osteoarthritis.

For more information on osteoarthritis visit: caninearthritis.org

Peace and love,

Dr. Lisa Mason

March 2025

February 2025