Well my most improved and gorgeous dog this week is Charlie. A young golden retriever (9 months) who has not been blessed with the best hips. He presented to Physiotherapy 3 weeks ago with severe lameness of his left back leg. The Vets have diagnosed him with developmental hip disease (dysplasia) on Xrays and found his left hip to be subluxed. It has been decided to start a Physiotherapy program for him to try to reduce his pain and improve his muscle balance and stability of the hip joint. This is in view of avoiding surgery.
Charlie is very fortunate to have 2 very dedicated owners who have taken all my advice on board to the ‘T’. He is a challenging case with such severe lameness but this week is considerably more comfortable and able to go on some short walks and start swimming. He has an absolute ball in the underwater treadmill, chills out nicely with his acupuncture and is loving his physio homework. At this early stage I am hoping for a winner and thank Ryan and Danielle for all their hard work. Hopefully he will have a long and happy life and get back to being a boisterous puppy soon.
nHip Dysplasia is a special interest of mine and I am continually amazed at how effective conservative management and controlled stability and strength can be to improve the stability of the hip joint and enable the pups to lead a great quality of life and avoid surgery. The key is to start early!
Good work Charlie.
