Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How dogs shift weight when their elbow joint hurts from arthritis
By Bockstahler, Barbara A et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2009·Clinical Department of Small Animals and Horses·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Compensatory load redistribution in naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the elbow joint and induced weight-bearing lameness of the forelimbs compared with clinically sound dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with elbow osteoarthritis (a common joint condition) was studied to see how their walking changed due to pain. The dogs shifted their weight away from the sore leg, putting more pressure on their other legs to help balance out their movement. This change in how they walked was more noticeable than in dogs without any joint issues. The findings suggest that when a dog has a sore front leg, it can lead to extra strain on their other legs and back.
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Abstract
The current study investigated the compensatory load redistribution due to osteoarthritis of the elbow joint using ground reaction forces of all four legs, simultaneously measured on a treadmill with integrated force plates. Three groups of dogs were used: the first group was clinically sound; the second group suffered from a naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the elbow joint, and a reversible lameness was induced in the third group. The naturally occurring osteoarthritis resulted in a compensatory gait pattern to reduce the stress on the affected limb. The load was reduced on the lame limb and increased on the contralateral hindlimb. The symmetry index indicated a weight-shift to the contralateral forelimb and diagonal hindlimb, which resulted in a more balanced weight distribution than in normal dogs. Dogs with induced lameness showed comparable but less pronounced alterations. These results suggested that forelimb lameness could lead to overload on non-affected extremities and the vertebral spine.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18406183/