Cruciate ligament rupture in dogs (symptoms, causes, tips)Your dog has a torn cruciate ligament? What are the symptoms of a torn cruciate ligament, what types there are, how they are treated and other tips I have compiled for you in this post. In addition, for this article we have taken advice from the veterinarian Mag.med.vet. Emin Jasarevic caught up.
A cruciate ligament tear is one of the most common orthopedic injuries in dogs. It is a partial or complete tear in one or both ligaments.
What is a cruciate ligament tear in dogs?
The cruciate ligament consists of two important tendons in the knee joint. Both ligaments cross in the center of the knee joint, from where they get their name. They consist of a concentration of elastic fibers running side by side. In addition, they are connected to each other by stabilizing connective tie.
Anatomically, there is an anterior and posterior cruciate ligament. Both tendons connect the lower leg with the upper leg. With the help of muscles and connective tie, they ensure the mobility and stability of the knee. By limiting the stretching movement of the tibia lead. tendons stabilize the joint during movement.
Recognize the symptoms in time
In unfavorable conditions for the cruciate ligament, an injury can occur in the form of a tear. The physicians speak with the phenomenon also of a Cruciate ligament rupture.
In this case, the fibers of the ligament are either partially damaged or completely severed. If the damage is partial, only single fibers are affected and early treatment is usually successful. However, a restriction of mobility and stability must be expected.
The most frequent damage occurs in the anterior cruciate ligament. This is caused by heavy strain compared to the rear ligament. Excessive wear and tear due to age, excessive or incorrect movements are also reasons.
It is believed that faulty changes in the skeleton, here above all in the limbs and in the joints as well as Disturbances in blood flow are the triggers. On the other hand, a genetic predisposition can also be the reason for a cruciate ligament rupture.
The first recognizable symptom of a cruciate ligament rupture is the sudden restriction of leg movement up to lameness. You recognize the injury when your charge drags one leg behind, limps, or only puts proper weight on one of the two hind legs.
Often it happens that at the beginning of the injury your pet does not continuously restrict movement on the affected leg and always moves normally. Sometimes there is increased pain only as the condition progresses. Your quadruped reacts with misbehavior.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to changes in movement behavior, if necessary, to examine the knee joint for swelling and to see the doctor.
Early treatment
Early treatment of a cruciate ligament tear is crucial for good healing. If the treatment is done too late or not at all, there will be an imbalance in the use of the leg. This is followed by excessive stress on other joints.
Accompanying damage from a neglected rupture often occurs to the meniscus, which is the cartilage in the knee. In this case, the organic shock absorber was overly stressed by the continued instability of the knee and was also damaged.
Sometimes you can even hear the damage and notice an unusual cracking sound coming from your four-legged friend's knee joint when he is walking. The consequences are severe pain. An increasing restriction of movements. Over time, this leads to Arthrosis in the knee joint, as well as Inflammation and a Degradation of the muscles to this.