Paralyzed dog with knee problems...
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2023 5:16 am
Hey, it's me again!
To give a little recap: Fox had a prolapsed disc one year ago. He underwent surgery and since then he is paralyzed in his back legs. Two months ago he got his wheelchair and life has been pretty good since then!
Well... until a few weeks ago. My husband and I still do some exercise with his legs. 3 times a day we move them, so they don't get stiff. We also went to physical therapy once a week, but we have been reducing the visits in the last 2 months because Fox doesn't seem to get better than his current state and that's completely fine. (He has feeling in both legs and can swing them when he's walking)
Now I have encountered a pretty particular problem. While doing the movement with his left leg he started whining. The left leg is the one with the most feeling, but it's also extremely stiff and spastic since the surgery. I went to the vet and apparently his kneecap keeps on jumping out. She guessed that he may have had this problem before the paralyzation and that it's now getting worse because of the spasticity. The physical therapist couldn't really say much more than that either. He got some pain meds, I didn't do exercise for a day and then started moving his leg again. Since then he didn't whine again - because the kneecap is completely loose. It doesn't get back inside on it's own. So now the options are to operate him again, on a leg he's probably never using again or to let the leg go stiff. I could still try to do the exercises, but it could hurt him sometimes.
I personally don't want another operation for him. He was extremely traumatized after the last one and he probably will never walk again anyway, so it's not like he loses any mobility.
I just wonder - are dogs fine if their leg is completely stiff? Do any of you have experience with this? My vet said in her experience dogs don't really mind. I'm just worried that it could hurt him. But I guess it's one pain or the other.
To give a little recap: Fox had a prolapsed disc one year ago. He underwent surgery and since then he is paralyzed in his back legs. Two months ago he got his wheelchair and life has been pretty good since then!
Well... until a few weeks ago. My husband and I still do some exercise with his legs. 3 times a day we move them, so they don't get stiff. We also went to physical therapy once a week, but we have been reducing the visits in the last 2 months because Fox doesn't seem to get better than his current state and that's completely fine. (He has feeling in both legs and can swing them when he's walking)
Now I have encountered a pretty particular problem. While doing the movement with his left leg he started whining. The left leg is the one with the most feeling, but it's also extremely stiff and spastic since the surgery. I went to the vet and apparently his kneecap keeps on jumping out. She guessed that he may have had this problem before the paralyzation and that it's now getting worse because of the spasticity. The physical therapist couldn't really say much more than that either. He got some pain meds, I didn't do exercise for a day and then started moving his leg again. Since then he didn't whine again - because the kneecap is completely loose. It doesn't get back inside on it's own. So now the options are to operate him again, on a leg he's probably never using again or to let the leg go stiff. I could still try to do the exercises, but it could hurt him sometimes.
I personally don't want another operation for him. He was extremely traumatized after the last one and he probably will never walk again anyway, so it's not like he loses any mobility.
I just wonder - are dogs fine if their leg is completely stiff? Do any of you have experience with this? My vet said in her experience dogs don't really mind. I'm just worried that it could hurt him. But I guess it's one pain or the other.