The herniated disc in the dog

 

Has back pain become the disease of the century? Whether your dog is at the top of his game, at the peak of his age, or crumbling under the weight of years, he can be just as prone to problems of herniated discs, a disease that affects certain breeds of dogs more easily. How to recognize it, how to treat it quickly, or how to avoid it? ...these are the questions that can be asked to preserve the health and well-being of your dog as he ages.

The herniated disc can have different locations

A dog's spine is articulated, facilitating body movements and protecting the spinal cord, the main conduction element of all nerve impulses. Each vertebra is articulated with the other using an intervertebral disc, composed of a fibrous ring and a more rigid nucleus. A herniated disc can occur anywhere in the spine, from the cervical vertebrae to the lumbar vertebrae, although certain locations are more common in dogs. It is the reflection of a displacement of the intervertebral disc, following a trauma or a malformation, causing a compression of the spinal cord.

How to detect the first signs of a herniated disc?

There are several stages of clinical expression that vary according to the degree of spinal cord compression and associated lesions.

Pain is often the first warning sign that can be observed in the dog, with moaning, with a sensitive area that does not tolerate caressing, sometimes generating aggressiveness, a bent back position, and difficulty getting up or lying down.

Other major signs are to be considered very quickly, of sudden or sometimes progressive appearance:

• a dog with a swaying gait of the hindquarters or difficulties more difficult to perceive in the forelimbs.
• balance problems
• reluctance to move, to go up or downstairs, and the first signs of paralysis
• locomotor difficulties sometimes associated with urinary or fecal incontinence and a loss of superficial or deep skin sensitivity.

As soon as the first evocative signs such as pain and motor difficulties appear, it is high time to come and consult your veterinarian because the paralysis of the hind limbs and the loss of sensitivity are no longer reversible even after surgery, spinal cord is definitely damaged.

The herniated disc affects some breeds more than others

Racial predisposition does exist for this pathology. Hansen, I type disc herniation affects the following breeds more easily, such as Dachshunds, Beagles, French Bulldogs, Lhasa Apso or Shih-Tzu, Jack Russells, Bichon Frises, and Maltese, around the age of 3 or 4 years. Large breeds of dogs are also predisposed, such as German Shepherds, Labradors, Rottweilers, or Dobermanns, for which type II herniation appears a little later, around the age of 6-7 years.

There is another type III disc herniation also called explosive herniation which occurs following a trauma, an accident, a shock, a bad landing after a jump, a fall, or an uncontrolled descent from the couch... It affects all breeds at any age. In some cases, fractures, embolism, or tumors can be one of the causes of herniated discs in dogs.

Small breed dogs like Yorkshires or Poodles are sensitive by nature, they can present instabilities of the cervical vertebrae strongly resembling herniated discs, a malformation leading to the trauma of the spinal cord similar to violent attacks of neck pain.

A complete neurological examination is essential

When the neurological examination is performed early, as in the first 48 hours, the prognosis can be promising; it will nevertheless remain reserved if the spinal cord is definitively damaged. Your veterinarian will then check the reflexes, the level of pain, and the degree of remaining sensitivity. To determine the affected area and the stage of the hernia, he will carry out additional examinations under general anesthesia, most often X-rays, myelography, scanner, or MRI depending on the level of severity and the clinic's equipment.