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Severe Metacarpal Arthritis In A Dog

by kkeeney - November 4, 2014 View Case Report

Hi Steve,

I saw an 8 year old MN pointer yesterday with severe metacarpal arthritis in both forelimbs (according to the rads which I have not seen). It is so severe on the left that the dog is walking with his foot totally rotated so that he is bearing all his weight on the lateral edge of his 5th digit. He also had tenderness on palpation of his lumbar spine L2 to the LS junction. It is so sad! He is incredibly active and still tries to run and play, but he is getting worse quickly and I worry about the amount of compensation he is doing and that this is in both feet.

His tongue was pale/lavender and moist without really being wet or dry. His pulses felt pretty toned and wiry, but he is a fit and lean dog and after his acupuncture they felt fuller so I suspect they are also a little thin prior to his needles. I feel like he is blood deficient, so I may be making up the thin pulse :)

He is a shy independent dog and is sweet but nervous. He has separation anxiety and is cold a lot. His ear tips and feet were cold with the exception of his arthritic areas which were hot to the touch.

He gets regular chiropractic adjustments, has had 6 rounds of laser treatments and is on several supplements to include fish oils, MSM and an herbal supplement containing willow bark.

I recommended a home cooked diet, but the owner is unable to cook for him a this time and cannot afford raw. They are switching him to a grain free canned diet instead as he has been eating organic lamb and rice kibble up until now.

They have chosen not to treat him with any anti-inflammatory medications up to this point.

What do you think for herbs? I am leaning toward YYRT, but I am not sure and want to get results as quickly as possible.

I also recommended they look into getting a consult for a brace and some rehab/PT.

I hope so much to help this guy!

Thank you as always for your time and guidance.

Best wishes,

Kelly

by naturevet

November 5, 2014

Hi there,

Hopefully the chiropractic treatments include evaluation of the neck. It's responsible for a lot of forelimb lameness. I know arthritis is visible, but radiographs don't tell us what percent of pain a lesion contributes. If a neck fixation has gone unappreciated, it may be producing pain that is aggravating whatever is coming from the legs.

Assuming that's not the case, if the pulse only felt weak in hindsight, I'd probably try Xiao Huo Luo Dan first. It contains analgesics, acute- acting anti-inflammatories, and herbs to promote inflammation resolution.

Another option to use in addition is Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset). It is a western herb that you should be able to access. I'd give at least 1 ml a few times a day. It appears to be highly effective in reducing bone pain from inflammation, as well as the inflammation itself.

Hope that helps,

Steve

Xiao Huo Luo Dan

by kkeeney

January 9, 2015

Hi Steve,

This patient is not much changed with the xiao huo luo dan so far. When I last examined him (1/2/15) he was still very painful bilaterally in the carpal and carpometacarpal joints and also painful in the lumbar spine. His pulses were toned and a bit wiry and his tongue was a light pink, moderately moist and a bit swollen. He runs cold and has cold ear tips and extremities. Despite his pain, he has a lot of energy and wants to play and be active. He just pays for it afterwards and is extremely lame in both forepaws (Left>Right) after activity.

I have him on the Kan quick river formula. He is about 60lbs and I have them giving 2 tablets BID. I had them increase him to 3 BID until I talked to you. They also gave him Boneset for a month with no obvious result. I think they have stopped it, but I will urge them to continue if you think it is worth giving it for longer and more often (I think they were only doing it twice a day). . Should I switch his formula or add in something else? Also, do you think I should switch him to the Natural Path granules instead and do you feel that the granular form is more effective generally? I tend to use mostly the Kan tablets, but I am getting ready to invest in a larger herbal pharmacy and wonder if I should switch to Natural Path granular formulas as my first line to offer.

Thanks so much Steve and best wishes,

Kelly

by naturevet

January 20, 2015

Hi Kelly,

Sometimes veterinarians report the granules work better for them.

I do have another idea for this dog, however. It is a granular extract formula called Dang Gui Si Ni Tang. It's a little like XHLD, but more tonifying. It was invented for digit pain aggravated by cold.

You may jave to make it yourself, but see if A Time to Heal can source it first. Atthherbs@aol.com

Steve

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