Rebuilding Hind Leg Muscle Loss

[Guest kerber]

My grey has been dealing with LS for about a year now, I am wondering if dogs can rebuild muscle? My vet says no, only maintain muscle - is that true? How can I help my grey get back some of his rear leg muscle - he walks fine, but is needing more and more assistance getting up and the couple of stairs out back. Thanks for your advice and experiences!

[Guest Swifthounds]

My Vixen has LS (diagnosed by the method described by Dr.Stack). She doesn't yet have trouble with stairs (she's only 11), but if she overexerts herself she experiences some difficulties. After one very trying time when recovery from an unrelated injury kept her on crate rest for a while, she had lost lots of muscle in her rear, triggering LS symptoms. I worked her back from that with moderate exercise with plenty of dietary protein and she dis build muscle back. As she gets older, she may have more difficulty doing so, but exercise that works those muscles, slowly building over time, guided by not pushing too hard and causing more symptoms is the approach I would take.

[NeylasMom]

I had a somewhat extensive conversation with my orthopedist about this because Neyla had lost a good bit of muscle in one rear leg due to a toe issue, which became a problem when she got osteo in a front leg. It is possible, but simply doing more walking or running won't do it according to him. He would have recommended water therapy (underwater treadmill) & PT, but she wasn't really a candidate for that so he said I could do water therapy on my own by walking her in streams, that sort of thing, and to also walk her up and down hills a lot. I would assume that stairs would also be helpful for the same reason although stairs can be hard on joints so I'd probably stick to the hills personally.

 

I believe water is probably the gentlest, while still being effective.

 

We also did massage and stretching to help her recover from the exercise/rebuild. I would just do each leg several times a day whenever she happened to be laying on the other side.

[Guest Swifthounds]

I forgot to say that I do slow work on stairs ( which may or may not be an option for you) and work on the beach and on grass fields (usually with some undulation). Cement and blacktop are harsher impact than natural surfaces. Water work is a great idea if you can swing it - almost no impact

[Guest kerber]

I had a somewhat extensive conversation with my orthopedist about this because Neyla had lost a good bit of muscle in one rear leg due to a toe issue, which became a problem when she got osteo in a front leg. It is possible, but simply doing more walking or running won't do it according to him. He would have recommended water therapy (underwater treadmill) & PT, but she wasn't really a candidate for that so he said I could do water therapy on my own by walking her in streams, that sort of thing, and to also walk her up and down hills a lot. I would assume that stairs would also be helpful for the same reason although stairs can be hard on joints so I'd probably stick to the hills personally.

 

I believe water is probably the gentlest, while still being effective.

 

We also did massage and stretching to help her recover from the exercise/rebuild. I would just do each leg several times a day whenever she happened to be laying on the other side.

 

 

How did you stretch the dog while they lay down?

[Guest PhillyPups]

To my greyt surprise, DonJuan has way more strength/muscles in his rear than he came with. He came to me almost 1 year ago, and was bitten by a cotton mouth snake just before he arrived, I am amazed and overjoyed he is still with me as when we met I did not think he would be. I use exercise and supplements, he actually trots at times and playbows to me. When he first came and tried to playbow, he would go tilt and over and look at me like I did it, now he can hold it and squeak a stuffy at the same time. I love my snarky old man.

[kudzu]

Underwater treadmill?

[GeorgeofNE]

Hills!

 

George has LS. My vet told me three things important in keeping him truckin': 1) regular gentle exercise, e.g. walking; 2) keep his weight down (don't starve him, but don't let him chunk up); and 3) keep the muscles!!!

 

Now, I know for myself, walking up hills works the big muscles in the butt/thighs MUCH more than walking on the flat--so George and I do our 2 mile walk every morning on a road that is hilly.

 

She also said avoid stairs when possible, no jumping on furniture, and no zoomies--but I live in a third floor condo (no elevator), so that one isn't possible. George sleeps on the bed and it gives him great joy, so...I ignore that one, and as to zoomies...what's the point in living if once in a while you can't cut loose and have fun? Since he's a leash dog, it's not often, but I'm not about to stop him!

 

I'm pretty dedicated to the first three though!

 

I often find myself saying to him, "C'mon boy! Feel the burn! Work it, work it, you're the man!" as we trek up the hill at the buttcrack of dawn (in the dark, actually) everything morning! I can do that, 'cause no one else is out there!

[Guest kerber]

Hills!

 

George has LS. My vet told me three things important in keeping him truckin': 1) regular gentle exercise, e.g. walking; 2) keep his weight down (don't starve him, but don't let him chunk up); and 3) keep the muscles!!!

 

Now, I know for myself, walking up hills works the big muscles in the butt/thighs MUCH more than walking on the flat--so George and I do our 2 mile walk every morning on a road that is hilly.

 

She also said avoid stairs when possible, no jumping on furniture, and no zoomies--but I live in a third floor condo (no elevator), so that one isn't possible. George sleeps on the bed and it gives him great joy, so...I ignore that one, and as to zoomies...what's the point in living if once in a while you can't cut loose and have fun? Since he's a leash dog, it's not often, but I'm not about to stop him!

 

I'm pretty dedicated to the first three though!

 

I often find myself saying to him, "C'mon boy! Feel the burn! Work it, work it, you're the man!" as we trek up the hill at the buttcrack of dawn (in the dark, actually) everything morning! I can do that, 'cause no one else is out there!

 

I have heard using hills - but where I live on the Great Plains there are literally no hills, and the couple there are in town are under 3 feet of snow at the moment .

 

Underwater treadmill?

Have you had dogs that used this? How did it work?

[Guest Swifthounds]

If you don't have hills, look for places along your walking route that have those handicap entrance ramps.

[kudzu]

Underwater treadmill?

  

Have you had dogs that used this? How did it work?

Yes, my senior Luke did once or twice a week for a while. It's basically a treadmill set in an aquarium. There's a watertight door on the back. The dog walks in. Tank fills with water to desired level. You start the treadmill and the dog starts walking. Was somewhat convinced Luke wouldn't do it. It did take help from the physical therapist the first time. She stood in the tank & helped him get the basic idea. Next time it was me in the tank. After that Luke went in solo. I shouldn't have worried. Dangled a bit of food in front of him & he was ready to go. That boy would have turned himself inside out & done cartwheels for a treat. Gosh I miss that old man. [sigh]

Edited March 19, 2011 by kudzu

[kudzu]

[sheesh, I saw it in preview but not when it posts.]

Edited March 19, 2011 by kudzu

[kudzu]

OK, just follow the link:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/kudzupets/LukeAquacizing?authkey=Gv1sRgCJbd5_ui9o6cKw#slideshow/5585599566857476274

Edited March 19, 2011 by kudzu

[Guest kerber]

OK, just follow the link:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/kudzupets/LukeAquacizing?authkey=Gv1sRgCJbd5_ui9o6cKw#slideshow/5585599566857476274

 

Thanks for the photo...I worry my dog will just want to lay down he gets pretty shaky standing in place, but walks fairly ok-can't stand in place for long though, his legs start to sit down if he is just standing, do they happen to have a body harness that lifts them up to relieve some of the weight as they move?

[KF_in_Georgia]

The dogs' own body fat--although there isn't a lot of it--helps keep the dogs on their feet.

 

There is a little video clip here. The dog in the photos and video is Katie, the first greyhound to earn a MACH title (Master Agility Greyhound). When she was about 10, Katie suffered a Fibrocartilagenous Embolism (FCE--basically, a spinal stroke). While she was recovering, Katie sometimes tended to knuckle under one foot when she walked. She also had some balance issues, so hydrotherapy--to strengthen her legs while keeping her from hurting herself--became an important part of her recovery. I think Katie eventually was back to nearly 90% of her pre-FCE mobility. (Katie died of cancer last October, at the age of 12.)

 

If you look at the links in the left column of Jen's blog, you can see links to all her posts about Katie's rehab.

[kudzu]

Thanks for the photo...I worry my dog will just want to lay down he gets pretty shaky standing in place, but walks fairly ok-can't stand in place for long though, his legs start to sit down if he is just standing, do they happen to have a body harness that lifts them up to relieve some of the weight as they move?

Where we go is a canine physical rehab clinic which is part of my vet's office. They also offer use of the underwater treadmill at a discounted rate to dogs involved in dog sports. So we were using it in sort of a self serve manner. Still the therapist got in with Luke the first time. She helped support him as the treadmill started while I stood outside at the end of tank encouraging him to walk. The next time I was in the tank. Luke had the hang of it after that.

 

If it was done in the normal PT session style then they would use whatever was needed to support the dog. That could be the therapist just using her legs, hands, arms or it might involve a sling. The water helps relieve some of the pressure of gravity making this a lower impact form of exercise. The resistance of the water itself makes even a slow pace a good workout. They are not in the tank for that long. It isn't right for every dog but it sure can help many.

 

I've done it with two different Greyhounds. To my surprise they both accepted it fairly well. My girl didn't like it but she tolerated it. Luke was just anxious to get started so he could get his treats. lol

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Our front leg amp. Morgan developed LS a few years after his amputation. We could see the loss of muscle. We had a physical therapist home consult. She tested his range of motion and recommended a plan for him. She thought it was more important to regain some of his range of motion and we started stretching exercises on him. He did regain some motion. Unfortunately his LS progressed to the point of losing control of his bowels and we had to let him go.