Soft tissue damage
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Lindsaymilne
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Soft tissue damage
I had to stop suddenly a few weeks ago and my dog hurt her neck. The vet wants to do a ct scan but we just can't afford it. They felt it was probably soft tissue damage and not a slipped disk as she can still walk and move but her neck/shoulders spasm. She was on metacam, tramadol and robaxin.with crate rest, she had almost a week and a half where we saw significant improvements and she was off the meds for all that time. Then this week, she escaped into the backyard and jogged a bit (ugh!) now her spasm is back and she seems to be in pain. What would you do? We got more pain meds... But I don't want her to be in pain long term if there isn't hope for improvement. Would she have improved if it was a slipped disk? Would crate rest help a slipped disk at all? A Is there hope? Please give me advice.
Re: Soft tissue damage
I think I would want her on muscle relaxers along with the pain med, and keep her from getting too cold so she does not tense up. You may want to raise her food and water bowls if needed.
Here is some information on crate rest for a neck problem.
http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm
Yes, I would think there is a lot of hope. I would be optimistic. She did improve, she just had a setback from too much activity. I would keep her restricted. Crate rest isn't fun and it is easy to feel sorry for the dog, but a few weeks in a crate is a small price to pay for a lifetime of walking, so you need to have tough love and insure she doesn't set herself back again. You're not being mean, you are doing what's best for her. Especially with a neck problem, you do not want to risk further injury until it has time to heal. It is so tempting to let the dog out once she looks like she has improved, but the results can be like taking a cake out of the oven too soon. It might have looked done when you peeked in the door, but you soon find out it wasn't. She might think she's better in a week or two, but I would follow the guidelines as shown in the link above, which tell how long to continue crating.
Here is some information on crate rest for a neck problem.
http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm
Yes, I would think there is a lot of hope. I would be optimistic. She did improve, she just had a setback from too much activity. I would keep her restricted. Crate rest isn't fun and it is easy to feel sorry for the dog, but a few weeks in a crate is a small price to pay for a lifetime of walking, so you need to have tough love and insure she doesn't set herself back again. You're not being mean, you are doing what's best for her. Especially with a neck problem, you do not want to risk further injury until it has time to heal. It is so tempting to let the dog out once she looks like she has improved, but the results can be like taking a cake out of the oven too soon. It might have looked done when you peeked in the door, but you soon find out it wasn't. She might think she's better in a week or two, but I would follow the guidelines as shown in the link above, which tell how long to continue crating.
Re: Soft tissue damage
I don't have time to look it up, but I'm pretty sure Robaxin is s skeletal muscle relaxer.
It sounds like a good med regimen, and I'd continue with it.