Gracilis (Thigh) Muscle Question

[3greytjoys]

Does anyone recall a Greyhound racing vet's term for a pulled-up gracilis muscle (inside upper rear thigh)?

What racing action usually causes it?

Is treatment recommended if very old injury that appears painless, just tight?

[silverfish]

Dropped muscle. It usually happens on the bend, if I remember rightly, when the dog is at full speed and turning sharply, where the greatest force is on the outside rear leg and inside wrist (I think I have that the right way round). Wrist injuries often happen at the same time. The dog is at full stretch and the muscle tears, sometimes only partially, but may tear fully later. Some authorities recommend letting it tear fully as quickly as possible so that it's over and done with and you get less adhesions if the muscle continues to be used while it heals. If your dog was rested while healing, according to this theory, that might be the reason it's tight now. Gentle, ongoing exercise might help with that.

 

Treatment is not necessary for an old dropped muscle unless it's causing trouble, then massage therapy might also help. But if it is an old injury, and your dog is limping again now, best to get a vet check, because old gracilis muscle injuries aren't known for causing big problems and it might be something else.

Edited December 30, 2012 by silverfish

[GeorgeofNE]

George has that. Probably ended his career, but doesn't seem to bother him now.

 

Other than look a little weird! That's how I can tell if a vet knows Greyhounds or not! If they know what it is, they do. If they think it's "swollen," they don't!

[tbhounds]

Just wanted to post a pic of a fresh gracilis tear looks like. My girl did this in a fun run. Initially, she became lame but, the lameness quickly resolved.

 

[3greytjoys]

Thank you for all your responses.

Silverfish: I greatly appreciate your thoughtfully detailed explanation. Yes, "dropped muscle" sounds familiar.

Tbhounds: Amazing that you came up with a fresh injury photo! Thanks for sharing your girl's unfortunate injury. Looks quite painful! I'm relieved your girl recovered well.

 

I've been trying to post a photo of our girl (standing) that shows her shortened gracilis muscle (sans external Photobucket type programs) but have yet to succeed. (Screen greys if I click GT's image icon, but I'll experiment further later.) Anyway, maybe George's old injury is similar. Thankfully, our girl isn't limping from her old injury, nor does she appear to be in pain from it. She walks fine, and isn't allowed to run any longer (other medical limitations). That muscle has always been tight and buldging a bit, so just trying to learn more about it.

 

Thanks again, everyone!

[Guest greytkidsmom]

kebo has one. he has a stiff back end now that he is 10 but it is arthritis in his back and not the leg that is a problem.

[silverfish]

Here's a picture of Renie from the rear, showing her dropped muscle. Hers tore from the bottom edge (it can be either) so it contracted upwards, and you can see it as a bulge with a little bit of a pinch below it on her right hind leg. If it had torn from the top, the bulge would have been towards the bottom on the inner thigh with the 'pinch' above it. The gracilis is a kind of a sheet of muscle which covers the underlying ones, so the affected leg will look less smooth than the healthy one.

 

 

The injury was several years old when I took this photo, so it might not be as obvious as some.

[turbotaina]

Heh. One of our adopters got a dog with a dropped gracilis. When she took him to the vet for the first visit, the vet had never seen anything like it, thought it was a tumor and tried to take an FNA