Cold Laser Therapy For Arthritis

[EnzaFerrari]

Enza has become more and more "exercise intolerant" (the Vet's rather amusing description) and no longer can go for the nice long walks unless she is consistently on NSAIDs. I am cautious about having her on rimadyl long term (50 mg per day) just to go for walks. She is fine around the house and continues to destroy toys and bounce around like a bunny when I get home or she sees one of her favorite people.

 

I've been looking into other options including acupuncture and a neighbor said a few rounds of cold laser therapy helped her pup immensely. Has anyone else done with this their pup?

[Walliered]

I did both on DaVid. He was scared to death every time and I could not see it doing anything.

[Guest MnMDogs]

I've not done it for any of mine. But my cousin in NJ has for her old guy, and she swears that it's helped immensely. I wish I had more details, but she had tried prednisone also, and said that the laser therapy was just as, if not more helpful.

 

Good luck! It's something I've considered for Mork, but just haven't looked into.

[MrAlexTheDog]

sadie has been receiving cold laser treatments. while she still occasionally yelps while lying down and asleep (i think while lying on her left side and draping her neck over her bolster bed -- i haven't actually seen it because it has happened while we were in separate rooms, and by the time i get to her she's already sitting up), the treatments have helped a lot.

[Houndtime]

I had Paul's back x-rayed and he was decided to be a good candidate for the laser therapy. Unfortunately, he get so stressed in the car that we can't do the twice a week regimen that our vet set up for him. Last week when Len tried to take him for his second treatment, Paul pooped in the truck and was so anxious from the car ride he made himself so exhausted he kept falling down at the vet's office. Len called me and said he was almost crying. He had to hold Paul up. We cancelled the rest of the schedule and our vet refunded the money we pre-paid.

[Guest bernadette]

I have been a witness to the success of cold laser treatments, both in dogs and horses. If you're able to give this a try, I would recommend. Let us know how it goes!

[krissn333]

Cold laser therapy was AWESOME for Sutra.

 

Carrie has had awesome results from monthly acupuncture treatments! Can't recommend it enough for mobility.

[GreyPoopon]

Some of my girls have had good results, both for acute problems (Betsy's neck) and more chronic issues (Minnie's knee). We're trying it now for Cal's sinking back end, and I think it's helped a bit already (3rd session today).

[forevergrey]

I used laser treatment on one of my greys for a wrist injury. I believe that it helped allot. It was 6 treatments, every three days. Just remember to cover up your greyhounds's eyes because looking right at the laser is not a good idea and can cause eye damage. I used to bring a dark color piece of cloth and just held it over his eyes while the laser was on. Acupuncture worked for some of my past dogs but not on the ones who would become too stressed out at the vets during the visit. The stress pretty much canceled out the benefits of the acupuncture. The dogs who were fine at the vets benefited from acupuncture. Lastly I just read a good article by Dr. Karen Becker on longevity in large breed dogs. According to the article regular chiro adjustments can do wonders and prevent mobility issues in elderly dogs. Friends who participate seriously in agility and flyball with their dogs, (not greyhounds) all do regular chiro. adjustments and swear by it. They say their dogs feel much better and it helps prevent injury. For pet dogs who do not participate in hard sports I was told every 3 months can be very helpful.

[EnzaFerrari]

Thanks! I will ask my vet about these options etc.

[Guest Scarter55]

Lady hurt her back/neck and we ended up taking her to a dog chiropractor. I thought it seemed a little silly at first, but nothing else had worked. I'm so glad we did! He pinpointed her injury, as well as older injuries that weren't affecting her any longer. He used a combination of his hands (seemed similar to a deep tissue massage) along the spine and a therapeutic laser. I'm not sure if it is the same thing as the cold laser therapy. It was device about the size of a labtop with a hand held part that he ran along her spine in the affected area. He even said he used it on himself when he was hurt. It is supposed to dramtically increase muscle regeneration. Whatever it was, the laser, and more importantly the treatments, worked wonders on her and she is back to normal. She just had her final check up and was deemed fully recovered.

 

For those in the Bay Area, I highly recommend Dr. Kelly Thompson. http://www.yelp.com/biz/dr-kelly-thompson-dc-los-altos#query:dog%20chiropractor

[NeylasMom]

We've had success with it in the 2 instances we've used it. I find your vet's diagnosis "odd" though. I have to assume if the Rimadyl helps that she's in some pain. Just because she plays in the house and bounces around for her favorite things doesn't mean she doesn't have that pain at other times, it may just be that she ignores it because whatever is exciting her is more important than some discomfort. Certainly no harm in seeing if the laser therapy improves her mobility if you can afford the ongoing treatments and fit them into your schedule, but I also wouldn't be afraid of trying an herbal anti-inflammatory (assuming she's already on joint supplement and fish oil?) or using a low dose of an NSAID if you don't see side effects. You could also see if Tramadol helps as it tends to have less long term side effect potential than anti-inflammatories, but it also may not work as well.

[EnzaFerrari]

She's on a joint supplement but no fish oil as it causes digestive problems. Tramadol is out - she had a bad reaction so it is not an option. I am doing the low dose rimadyl but am also exploring other options to see about better mitigating pain vs. just controlling it medicinally. If that is the only option, I will of course go that path, but I see no harm in inquiring.

 

As for the odd term, it was more how we delineated between lethargic and wilting on a walk. I was discussing how she is by no means lethargic but will wilt if we go too far so she said, "so she's exercise intolerant then", paused and then we both started laughing. There was then a 5 minute sidebar about ourselves being exercise intolerant that might have better illustrated, but it wasn't germane to the discussion. So ppptth. One would think I would know by now to record and post every conversation with the vet to avoid people questioning everything.

[NeylasMom]

Makes sense. I certainly wasn't trying to discourage you from considering/trying the laser therapy, but I was confused by your comment about having her on the Rimadyl "just to go for walks" combined with what the vet said.

 

When you did fish oil, did you introduce it slowly? And did you use a high quality liquid without anything else added? I just can't say enough about the potential benefits of supplementing with fish oil not only for inflammation issues, but also to prevent cancer and other disease. If I had my way, all dogs would just be on it. Anyway, you should in theory be able to have her tolerate it if you introduce it very slowly. Having said that, Enza is weird so I wouldn't put it past her not to be able to.

[EnzaFerrari]

She prefers the term "quirky".

 

And yeah - slowly but every single time by week two, we have issues.

 

What is driving this research is that she hasn't picked up a stick in two weeks.

[krissn333]

Personally, Deramaxx has served me best for issues like you're describing.

 

Off the path we're on, but, has her thyroid been tested? Has she been evaluated for any sort of heart issue (arrhythmia, murmur, etc)? Might also be things to look into if you haven't already.

 

My kids got diarrhea from fish oil capsules but do great on the Iceland pure anchovy & sardine oil that Jen recommended to me once upon a time. Bought the pump bottle on Amazon

 

Edited to fix darn autocorrect!

Edited May 29, 2013 by krissn333

[NeylasMom]

She prefers the term "quirky".

 

And yeah - slowly but every single time by week two, we have issues.

 

What is driving this research is that she hasn't picked up a stick in two weeks.

 

And my apologies to Miss Enza for using the term weird rather than quirky.

[GeorgeofNE]

As someone who suffers from arthritis, not putting her, and keeping her on an NSAID out of fear is really depriving her of a comfortable life. I could not live a happy normal life without daily medication.

 

Deramaxx gave my last dog probably two more years of life--he had very severe arthritis, and I would have had to put him down because of his pain level. Obviously your dog is not at that stage, but wouldn't you prefer her to be comfortable?

 

Deramaxx or Rimadyl requires every 6 mo. or annual blood work (depends on the initial results, your dog, and your vet!), and as long as those results are good, there really is no reason not to use them.

 

I find Deramaxx works better for George.

 

There is also Meloxicam, which we have never used, but is less expensive and well tolerated.

 

Supplements only work on cases that are very mild. My doctors literally laughed at the idea I use glucosamine and such because I just have NO cartilidge left, and all those things can maybe do are increase the lubrication in the joint--but once you have bad arthritis, all you're doing is wasting your money.

 

Fish oils are alleged to reduce overall inflammation. They don't help me at all, but I keep taking them anyone in the faint hope maybe they'll at least make my hair shiny!

 

I wake up and take my medications, give myself 40 minutes for them to kick in, and then go about my day which includes DAILY exercise--the best thing you can do for an arthritic dog is keep it moving. Keep their weight down and their muscle tone up since strong muscles relieve some of the pressure on joints.

 

George has LS, and I make a point of doing a hilly walk--nearly 2 miles, six days a week. Not moving is what you FEEL like doing, but not moving makes everything about arthritis worse.

[NeylasMom]

 

I wake up and take my medications, give myself 40 minutes for them to kick in, and then go about my day which includes DAILY exercise--the best thing you can do for an arthritic dog is keep it moving. Keep their weight down and their muscle tone up since strong muscles relieve some of the pressure on joints.

 

George has LS, and I make a point of doing a hilly walk--nearly 2 miles, six days a week. Not moving is what you FEEL like doing, but not moving makes everything about arthritis worse.

This is a bit of a slight digression, but I think your point about exercise is an important one. Everything I read about treating LS said to give the dog rest or limit exercise, but my orthopedist (who is fantastic) actually put Zuri in PT so we could build his core strength back up. In addition to our PT exercises and underwater treadmill, we were encouraged to do hilly walks (you don't build that kind of strength walking on flat ground) with the idea that the increased strength would take stress off of his back end. In all of my time on GT, I've never heard of anyone else's vet recommending that for a dog with LS and it does seem to be working for Z. So now it's something I'm going to harp on a lot in this forum.

 

End digression.

Edited May 30, 2013 by NeylasMom

[XTRAWLD]

I noticed this option at the vet's the other day. While I don't think we are at the stage for trying to use it yet - it does have a long list of applications.

 

I have witnessed successful laser therapy in horses, no experience with canines though.