Canine Arthritis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Veterinary medicine and human medicine share a large percentage of their physiology and diseases. This case is no exception, since arthritis is a condition both share.

It's commonly confused with osteoarthritis, but the truth is they're different conditions. At Soyunperro we'll explain what it is, how it differs from osteoarthritis, its main symptoms, as well as diagnosis, treatment, and tips to help ease our dog's symptoms as much as possible. Let's get into it.

What Is Arthritis and What Causes It?

As the name suggests, arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints (often affecting the synovial membrane). It's a condition that doesn't stem from a single cause — several factors can lead our dog to develop arthritis, and with it, pain.

The main causes could be:

1. Bacterial infections. For example, from Ehrlichia or Pasteurella sp. The latter is usually caused by a cat or dog bite. If our animal has an underlying illness or a weakened immune system, the consequences of this infection could be worse and spread further. In truth, many bacteria can cause arthritis in our pet. However, in dogs, arthritis from local infection of the joint is more common than from sepsis that later spreads to it.
2. Trauma. A possible cause can be trauma to the joint itself. This is usually a temporary cause, since after observing the resulting symptoms in our furry friend, the vet will choose the right treatment, and if there are no complications, the prognosis is good and recovery takes just a few days.
3. Immune-mediated arthritis. In this type of arthritis, our dog's immune system attacks itself, inflaming the joint or joints. A hypersensitivity reaction occurs in the body (similar to an allergy). The triggers for this reaction are usually infections and/or viruses (FeLV in cats).

Within this category of arthritis there are several types, but in most of them the prognosis is guarded, and it will always be necessary to see our trusted vet because of the pain involved.

Main Symptoms of Arthritis

Depending on the cause, symptoms can vary. But most share the same set of symptoms. These are:

• Pain and limping.
• Limited joint movement or stiffness.
• Joint swelling, which may feel warm.
• Muscle atrophy if the arthritis persists over time.
• Possible ligament tears, for example if it resulted from trauma.
• There may be fever if it's caused by bacteria, and more so if there's sepsis.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Canine Arthritis

From home, we can observe some of the symptoms described above, but only the vet, through a combination of clinical signs and tests, can diagnose it.

X-rays will be useful for the vet, since they can spot signs of arthritis in the image. They'll assess how much damage there is in the joint and how advanced it is. Arthrocentesis is a very specific test used in these cases, where a small sample of joint fluid is taken for analysis. This can be cultured with an antibiogram, showing the cells present, the type of bacteria, and the right antibiotic treatment to proceed with treating our pet's arthritis.

As for treatment, it depends on the cause of the arthritis. If it's autoimmune, treatment will be based on immune-suppressing drugs (so it stops attacking our dog), such as corticosteroids. If it's an infection, antibiotics will be needed. Regardless of the cause, though, the pain it causes needs to be treated.

In some cases, acupuncture can help with treatment, although it should be recommended by a professional dedicated to it. With the right guidelines and following the vet's advice, depending on the cause, we may be able to cure it or at least ease the symptoms and extend our dog's life while giving it a good quality of life.

Tips for Caring for a Dog With Arthritis

Besides the drug treatment the vet prescribes, it's a good idea to follow a few guidelines to help our furry friend as much as we can. These can be:

1. Weight loss to reduce stress on the joints.
2. Using cold and heat therapy on the affected joints to reduce inflammation and pain. Heat can be applied with a warm seed bag, and cold with ice wrapped in a cloth. Doing 3 cycles of this 2 or 3 times a day can help treat the joint inflammation.
3. Carefully controlled physical therapy and exercise on soft surfaces, under an expert's supervision, to help strengthen muscles in cases of atrophy and increase range of motion.
4. Our pet needs to rest on a bed or a well-cushioned surface, that keeps its joints from having too much contact with the hard floor, which could make the pain worse.

Follow these recommendations and don't forget to take the dog for regular vet check-ups to monitor this condition.

Main Differences From Osteoarthritis

While it's true that chronic arthritis that develops over time can end up causing osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis itself is the degenerative wear of cartilage, generally associated with age.

Arthritis doesn't always correlate with age and can appear in young dogs too, and its causes differ from those of osteoarthritis. Once osteoarthritis appears, it lasts for the animal's whole life, so treatment does too. So, the goal becomes easing symptoms and extending our dog's quality of life.

Osteoarthritis usually affects medium breeds to a lesser extent, and large and giant breeds more often. Arthritis, since it's caused by the reasons listed above, could occur in any breed. That said, some professionals sometimes group them under a single condition.