Gus the Greyhound, enjoying a walk
Gus is a retired racer coming up for his 6th birthday. He raced for just over a year (most greyhounds race for between two and five) before being retired at the age of three and a half. He’s been enjoying retirement with a retired couple ever since and apart from an underactive thyroid he’s been in pretty good health.
Recently, Gus had been running with the retired couple’s daughter who was completing the Couch to 5k programme. He’d been enjoying himself with a few runs of twenty minutes or so over the course of a couple of weeks before he started having some trouble lifting himself off his bed, letting out little yelps each time.
Built for short sprints, greyhound’s back and leg muscles are usually highly developed and quite tight which is why you don’t often see a greyhound in the ‘sit’ position. Generally, they are large and quite heavy dogs (the bitches tend to be smaller and daintier) and Gus was no exception tipping the scales at 38 kilos – about average weight for a retiree. Still, lifting this weight from the ground requires some effort, so the yelping – or rather its root cause - was a worry for the owners.
Recently, Gus had been running with the retired couple’s daughter who was completing the Couch to 5k programme. He’d been enjoying himself with a few runs of twenty minutes or so over the course of a couple of weeks before he started having some trouble lifting himself off his bed, letting out little yelps each time.
Built for short sprints, greyhound’s back and leg muscles are usually highly developed and quite tight which is why you don’t often see a greyhound in the ‘sit’ position. Generally, they are large and quite heavy dogs (the bitches tend to be smaller and daintier) and Gus was no exception tipping the scales at 38 kilos – about average weight for a retiree. Still, lifting this weight from the ground requires some effort, so the yelping – or rather its root cause - was a worry for the owners.
There were a number of possible causes of Gus’s discomfort: quite simply, he could have been experiencing cramp as a result of the unusual exercise. It could have been a disc bulge pressing on a nerve and causing pain during certain motions. And it could be a result of osteoarthritis. Greyhounds can be susceptible to arthritis in the lower spine – a result of the strain of the flexion and extension that occurs when they race. This repetitive strain can cause degeneration of the spinal discs leaving gaps between the individual vertebrae. The physiological response to this is to create new bone (osteophytes also known as bone spurs) as the body’s defence system attempts to stabilise the gaps. These osteophytes cause the spine to become stiff and sore. Gus’s thyroid medication carries a warning that a side effect could be the hastening of the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
A visit to the vet had not delivered any explanation for the yelping and the vet had recommended a joint care supplement designed to support the metabolism of joints for dogs suffering from osteoarthritis. Wanting to have him checked over further, Gus arrived at my clinic for an osteopathic assessment.
A visit to the vet had not delivered any explanation for the yelping and the vet had recommended a joint care supplement designed to support the metabolism of joints for dogs suffering from osteoarthritis. Wanting to have him checked over further, Gus arrived at my clinic for an osteopathic assessment.
Gus was the perfect patient, as is usual with this breed. Greyhounds are used to being handled (and sometimes, man-handled!) from a relatively early age, they’re no strangers to being massaged, prodded and poked. In fact, this can make issues with greyhounds difficult to diagnose as they tend to be stoic about pain – all athletes are used to carrying aches and pains and various niggles! Gus stood patiently as I examined his spine, his legs and his joints, checking for unusual knobby bits along his vertebrae, around his carpus (wrists), tarsal bones (hock joint) stifles (knees) and elbows which might suggest osteophytic growth. Several vertebrae in his lumbar region were more prominent than the rest, but did not appear to be causing any discomfort.
Usually, in spite of their stoic appearance, if there is any discomfort, palpation of the area will cause a flickering or twitching of the surrounding muscles, and this is the only way to tell whether there is an underlying problem. However, even after careful and prolonged examination, no signs of distress presented.
In the absence of a ‘tell’ sign, taking the history presented to me along with the medication and its potential side effects, I concluded the most likely cause of the yelping had been an arthritics flare up which has settled down. I stretched out his muscles to alleviate tension and mobilised the joints to get blood, oxygen and healing fluids moving.
Subsequent conversations reveals Gus has been doing well and has not had any further incidences of discomfort. I have suggested, however, that he’s probably better off leaving the 5k behind him in favour of the couch!
Usually, in spite of their stoic appearance, if there is any discomfort, palpation of the area will cause a flickering or twitching of the surrounding muscles, and this is the only way to tell whether there is an underlying problem. However, even after careful and prolonged examination, no signs of distress presented.
In the absence of a ‘tell’ sign, taking the history presented to me along with the medication and its potential side effects, I concluded the most likely cause of the yelping had been an arthritics flare up which has settled down. I stretched out his muscles to alleviate tension and mobilised the joints to get blood, oxygen and healing fluids moving.
Subsequent conversations reveals Gus has been doing well and has not had any further incidences of discomfort. I have suggested, however, that he’s probably better off leaving the 5k behind him in favour of the couch!
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