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Tricky paw injuries
Bruce Teague Australia (Verified User) Posts 2092 Dogs 0 / Races 0 27 Aug 2019 04:52
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I may be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but I offer a thought about greyhound paw injuries in case it is of use. My initial reminder came from the referenced file (below). Secondly, I noted when viewing the Bionic Vet program on SBS (Prof Noel Fitzpatrick- UK) that, amongst other gear, he utilises a weight measuring plate built into the floor. Dogs walk back and forth across the plate, providing computerised measurements of how much down force is assigned to each leg.
The application here is that a dog may well have sensitivity in one paw/leg or another that may not be obvious to the naked eye but could well be affecting its performance.
An extreme example would be the pad damage to Tornado Tears at Wenty, apparently due to a surface peculiarity. I gather the trainer had no such equipment to access to determine the dogs recovery.
Is such technology available in Australia and is it in use? If not, why not?
(Journal of Turfgrass Science Vol74 1988 Literature Survey of racing greyhound injuries .... A Cook The Sports Turf Research Institute Bingley W York.)
Sorry - the file is not copyable as is.
Richard Gray Australia (Verified User) Posts 2231 Dogs 11 / Races 9 27 Aug 2019 09:53
Henning Olesen United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 246 Dogs 2 / Races 0 27 Aug 2019 20:06
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I have a bitch with tenderness in a front paw, had her to the vet and she got X-ray of paw in different angles but it showed nothing then he cut a small hole in paw to see if anything was sitting in paw still nothing showed up, so vet gave me antibiotics to give her in 10 days and that didnt help so I gave up:-( Tryed almost everything but no luck....:-( Paw injuries is a pain to deal with:-(
Carole Brown Australia (Verified User) Posts 32355 Dogs 185 / Races 2 27 Aug 2019 23:07
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Henning, do you have anyone in your area who could check her neck and upper spine for you? Very often, a pinched nerve in the spine in this area will give you referred pain in the shoulder, lower leg and foot. If this is the problem, a manipulation of the spine will release the pinched nerve and the soreness will go out of the foot. There is also a tendon that runs down from under the lower edge of the stopper bone at the back of the wrist. If this is strained, it can cause pain in the paw. It would be worth checking these things if you can find someone to do it for you. Good luck.
Bruce Teague Australia (Verified User) Posts 2092 Dogs 0 / Races 0 27 Aug 2019 23:21
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Carole,
As a mug in this area I am reluctant to comment but I am trying to learn a bit (dangerous though that may be).
My impression is that your solution may well work but it is also guesswork. I presume an MRI would indicate whether discs and nerve passages are in the right place or not or whether the discs are damaged.
Meantime, I was just after an answer to my original question - do we have the specialised gear?
Carole Brown Australia (Verified User) Posts 32355 Dogs 185 / Races 2 27 Aug 2019 23:28
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Bruce, it is NOT guesswork. My husband has fixed these problems many, many times with a simple manipulation of the spine in these areas. There have also been many, many dogs with a foreleg limp that he has fixed by this spinal manipulation. It is not hard for the person doing it if they know what to do, as my husband does, and it does not hurt the dog or require any MRIs, specialised equipment, etc. If you have ever experienced sciatica, where the pain constantly runs through the buttocks all the way down one or both legs, a visit to a good chiropractor who will manipulate the lower spine , will fix the problem instantly. I know from my own experience.
Bruce Teague Australia (Verified User) Posts 2092 Dogs 0 / Races 0 28 Aug 2019 03:33
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Carole,
I don't doubt for a minute that what you and your husband do may well work brilliantly. That's great. Man or dog. Cheers for the muscle men (now fully legal, I understand).
Of course, it leaves open the possibility of the problem occurring again. Crook backs are a problem for all.
My point - and my question - related to the more extreme cases - ie where there is significant damage to the spinal area/disc/nerve path etc (obviously requiring surgery) or to the hard to define cases.
Equally, it could be more subtle, as in minor irritations around the paw/toes/webbing which have nothing to do directly with spine or nerve paths as such but which the dog knows about but does not tell you. In which case you are getting 80% or 90% productivity and scratching your head trying to locate the reason. The Cook story instanced one of those.
So, too, the Tornado pad where Britton and a few vets assumed/hoped (insert your own word) that the problem was fixed. In that case my guess is that the weight measuring test might well have shown up that the dog was only, say, 70% right on that leg. In hindsight, they were wrong, weren't they?
I still don't know if the gear is available here.
Anyway, Fitzpatrick uses it routinely and he must be one of if not the most skilled surgeons on the planet. The name of the firm is Fitzpatrick Referrals - ie he gets only those cases which normal vets can't sort out, so they send them on to him and his 200 staff (42 of them vets).
Henning Olesen United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 246 Dogs 2 / Races 0 28 Aug 2019 10:24
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Hi Carole. Thanks for info:-)... I have tryed a muscleman, he couldnt find anything but I will take her again to him to see if he can find anything wrong with her this time. She is not so tender when on soft ground and I cant keep her quiet can run all day:-)
Carole Brown Australia (Verified User) Posts 32355 Dogs 185 / Races 2 28 Aug 2019 11:27
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Henning, back misalignments are pretty common in greys, and can cause apparent soreness in other areas, where the pinched nerves run. Get your mm to thoroughly and carefully check the lower neck and upper back .and around the stopper bone as I mentioned. If it is the back, and he fixes it, the pain should go out of her foot. If it is possibly the tendon around the stopper bone, use an ultrasonic or laser treatment on it. Will you let us know how you get on, please ? By the way, whereabouts are you , as I had an idea you might live overseas ?
Henning Olesen United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 246 Dogs 2 / Races 0 28 Aug 2019 12:44
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Carole, When you put pressure with 2 fingers on paw she is not happy:-( I can try what you say but I have my doubts if it gonna help! Yes Im living in Ireland:-) thanks again
Carole Brown Australia (Verified User) Posts 32355 Dogs 185 / Races 2 29 Aug 2019 11:09
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Henning, check your PMs.
Tony Gallagher Australia (Team Member) Posts 5912 Dogs 12951 / Races 40209 29 Aug 2019 14:42
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Hi Henning, if your dog is limping or sore on the paw the first place to look is the pads and look for cuts, foreign bodies etc., then work your way up the leg.
Check the tendons running under the metacarpals
the metacarpals
check the toes
check between the toes
the sesamoids
the accessory carpal both up and down and side to side
the main flexor tendon
the stopper pad
the up and down flexion of the wrist
the side to side flexion of the wrist
when checking these points simply compare the good leg to the one with the problem.
most times you will locate the problem in these areas. If not go to someone who specialises in greyhounds as suggested by Carole.
Good luck
Henning Olesen United Kingdom (Verified User) Posts 246 Dogs 2 / Races 0 30 Aug 2019 13:33
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Hi Tony. Thanks for info.... Will give it another go with her to figure it out.
Do you have questions regarding the health of your greyhound? Do you need tips what you should feed your dog?
