Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Muscle cramps in dogs - signs and diagnosis
By Gagliardo, Teresa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical features of muscle cramp in 14 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs experienced painful muscle cramps that were often triggered by movement. Most of the dogs showed signs of discomfort, with the majority suffering from low calcium levels due to conditions like primary hypoparathyroidism. In some cases, the exact cause of the cramps was not identified, particularly in three German Shepherds. Treatment focused on addressing the underlying calcium deficiency, which helped alleviate the muscle cramps in affected dogs.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Muscle cramps (MCs) are prolonged, involuntary, painful muscle contractions characterized by an acute onset and short duration, caused by peripheral nerve hyperactivity. OBJECTIVES: To provide a detailed description of the clinical features and diagnostic findings in dogs affected by MCs. ANIMALS: Fourteen dogs. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective case series. Cases were recruited by a call to veterinary neurologists working in referral practices. Medical records and videotapes were searched for dogs showing MCs. The follow-up was obtained by telephone communication with the owner and the referring veterinarian. RESULTS: Three patterns of presentation were identified depending on the number of affected limbs and presence/absence of migration of MCs to other limbs. In 9/14 (64%) of dogs, MCs were triggered by prompting the dogs to move. 8/14 (58%) dogs were overtly painful with 6/14 (42%) showing mild discomfort. The cause of MCs was hypocalcemia in 11/14 (79%) dogs: 9 dogs were affected by primary hypoparathyrodism, 1 dog by intestinal lymphoma and 1 dog by protein losing enteropathy. In 3/14 cases (21%) the cause was not identified, and all 3 dogs were German Shepherds. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Muscle cramps can manifest in 1 of 3 clinical patterns. Muscle cramps are elicited when dogs are encouraged to move and do not always appear as painful events, showing in some cases only discomfort. The main cause of MCs in this study was hypocalcemia consequent to primary hypoparathyroidism. In dogs having MCs of unknown etiology, idiopathic disease or paroxysmal dyskinesia could not be ruled out.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33247617/