Dogs With Knee Injuries Need Pain Killers

If you've ever had problems with your knees, you know that pain killers for dog with knee injuries are essential.  Injured and arthritic knees can be extremely painful.  You might not have thought that dogs even have knees, but they do.  They have what is called a stifle joint that operates much like a human knee and when injured, is very painful.   

Like our knees, a dog's knee connects the thigh and shin bones with ligaments, which are made of fibrous tissue.  (Ligaments differ from tendons, which are connect muscles to bones.)   Ligaments prevent too much internal movement inside the joint.  When ligaments are injured, dogs walk with great difficulty and they are in pain.    The vet may use terms such as "excessive internal rotation of the joint" and "hyper extension."  This means your dog's knee is damaged and he or she is in pain.

Some dog breeds injure their knees more than others.  Rottweilers, Labradors, and Newfoundlands have a genetic tendency to have knee problems, in part because of their size.  Toy dogs have knee problems primarily because their knee caps slide out of place.  Working and competing dogs are prone to knee injury due to activities such as quick turns and stops.    

Often surgery is recommended by vets.  About 600,000 dogs in the United States get surgery to repair ligaments and knees annually.  However, many people decide not to have their dogs get surgery for damaged knees, regardless of vet recommendations. There is always the risk that any surgery will not be successful. Now that insurance companies are providing insurance for pets, there has been more research into the effectiveness of knee surgery on dogs.  Some findings are that the success rate can be as low as 20 percent for dog knee surgeries.  Of course, the pet insurance companies have a stake in trying to minimize their number of payments for dog knee surgeries.    

Because of concerns about infection and success rates, you may decide against knee surgery for your dog, especially if he or she is older.  Or you may not have pet insurance or the money for surgery.  Pain killers for dogs with knee injuries are very important, especially when they do not get surgery to correct the damage.  Even with a successful surgery, dogs may continue to need long-term pain medication.

A dog who doesn't get pain relief for a knee problem really can't enjoy life to the fullest.  Pain killers for dogs with knee problems are essential for quality of life.