Osteo Question

[brindlehound]

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, when I got home from work, Magic was barely putting any weight on his right rear leg. When I took him to the vet, naturally, she was concerned about osteo. The injury turned out to be a soft-tissue injury (or as I've been calling it a doggie sprained ankle)

 

My question is can the limping and swelling associated with osteo show up suddenly other than an obvious break? When I left for work, he was walking normally. When I got home, he was limping.

 

I was so scared while the x-ray was being developed and then so relieved when it was negative that I forgot to ask the vet this question.

[BauersMom]

Yes, it can come on suddenly. However - lots of things can cause those symptoms. I assume from your note that he had an x-ray done 2 weeks ago when the first injury happened? In that case, and there was nothing on the x-ray then, I think it's more likely a soft tissue injury.

[brindlehound]

Yes, it can come on suddenly. However - lots of things can cause those symptoms. I assume from your note that he had an x-ray done 2 weeks ago when the first injury happened? In that case, and there was nothing on the x-ray then, I think it's more likely a soft tissue injury.

 

It was soft-tissue. The vet showed me the x-ray and described what a tumor would look like which it was not. She also did a lyme disease test and that was negative too.

Edited November 20, 2011 by brindlehound

[TwiggysMom]

I'm no vet, and have no medical experience, but I think that if there was significant swelling and your vet said nothing looked abnormal on the xrays, that it should be just as said - a soft tissue injury.

 

Twiggy's xrays showed "something" when she first showed signs of osteo (a slight limp, NO swelling). Her vet said that it could be either a fungal bone infection or osteo. Of course, it was osteo. A few days later, some minor swelling started showing, which continued for the next few days before her amp.

 

Can it show up suddenly? Yes. Twiggy was totally normal one minute and the next she was limping. BUT, that doesn't automatically mean osteo. That was just the first sign for her. Most people (including, I think, everyone at my vet's office) thought I was just being neurotic. Turns out I was right, but that doesn't happen often.

 

How is the swelling now? If it has been 2.5 weeks and is better or at least not worse, I wouldn't be thinking osteo.

 

Doing a TBD test was smart, too, especially if the limping seems to change legs.

 

I hope Magic is recovered from his injury!

 

Edited: TYPO!

Edited November 20, 2011 by TwiggysMom

[HopeForHounds]

Simple answer, yes.

 

Jake has had many episodes of sudden swelling and limping. It may turn out there was some hijinks while you were out and an injury was the result. If it comes back, or there is an episode with another leg, even a few months later I would suspect tick disease.

 

FWIW Jake had PSR tests for ehrlichia, babesia, lyme and rocky mountain and they were neg. He also got regular snap tests as he was a blood donor. Unfortuanately none of these caught his TBD. Our vet strongly suspects a strain of ehrlichia. After years of tests trying to determine what was going on, we treated with doxyscyclin. the first time not aggressively enough, but after a relapse and treatment he has not limped again.

[brindlehound]

Thanks for the input all. Magic is fine. He was on leash-walking for 2 weeks and wasn't overly happy about it.

 

I was just more curious than concerned especially since I knew that it was a soft-tissue injury; and, also, since it was over 2 weeks ago and the swelling is long gone.