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What You Need to Know About IVDD and Back Pain in Dogs: Part 2

In our last post we talked about intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) and how it can lead to back pain and mobility issues for your pup. Whether the symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe, it’s important to get the right treatment from the right health care professionals to ensure your pup lives the happiest, most pain-free life possible. So what are your options if you discover your dog does in fact have IVDD?

Basically, IVDD can be treated conservatively or with surgical intervention, but ultimately the severity of the symptoms will determine that decision.

Dogs who go the route of conservative treatment oftentimes have more mild to moderate symptoms, and factors such as breed, duration of symptoms, and location and type of disc herniation can influence the success achieved with such treatment.

With conservative care, dogs may be given anti-inflammatory medication and are often prescribed crate rest for up to 6 weeks. While rest may seem like the reasonable thing to do given your pup’s suffering, active rest with a gradually progressed and controlled exercise program prescribed and supervised by a certified canine rehabilitation professional is likely to be more beneficial than total crate rest. Muscle atrophy happens quickly, and while total rest may provide temporary relief, ultimately your pup may experience further mobility loss down the road. If you’re curious to learn more, check out our post on this very subject.

Dogs with more progressive neurological signs and symptoms, such as loss of bowel and bladder control, are more likely to undergo surgery to remove the disc material compressing the spinal cord and nerve roots, allowing the signals between the brain and body to pass freely once again. After surgery, rehabilitation should be provided to help your pup regain strength and mobility—but not via just any rehabilitation program. A certified canine rehabilitation therapist can design and implement a tailor-made exercise program, using hands-on treatment and modalities such as laser for pain relief to provide the best possible outcome.

Contrary to what you may have seen in many vet clinics, rehabilitation is not simply the underwater treadmill; oftentimes poor gait patterns are actually reinforced by using the underwater treadmill without any other type of exercise, thus increasing the risk of further pain and injury!

IVDD is very treatable, and generally the prognosis is good. Of course, prevention is always the best medicine. Here are some things you can do to prevent IVDD’s development in the first place:

  • Help your pup maintain a healthy weight via nutrition and exercise
  • Always use a harness instead of a collar
  • In the case of smaller breeds, use ramps to prevent jumping from high places

No matter which route you take with your dog, whether it’s conservative care or surgery, rehabilitation provided by a certified canine rehab therapist should always be part of the treatment plan. Doing so will give your pup the best possible chance of keeping pain down and spirits up for a life full of movement and tail wags!

~TheK9PT
Dr. Francisco Maia, PT, DPT, CCRT

In collaboration with:

Dr. Aliya Bahjet, PT, DPT
Professional Writer and Physical Therapist