Treatment. There is no cure for Degenerative Myelopathy in dogs, but fortunately, it is not a painful condition. Keeping your dog healthy through exercise and diet is always helpful. Please note, orthopedic braces like what we offer here at Ortho Dog DO NOT help dogs with Degenerative Myelopathy.
The Biko-Brace has been specially designed to help dogs walk with ataxia, Degenerative Myelopathy, degenerative disc disease or post-operative patients. The brace corrects the position of the hind limbs.
There is no effective treatment for degenerative myelopathy at present. Treatment of other concurrent problems such as arthritis or hip dysplasia may provide some relief from pain or discomfort. It is important to avoid obesity, so diet and exercise (walking and swimming) are vital components of treatment.
As horrible as all of this sounds, degenerative myelopathy is not painful That being said, dogs that suffer from degenerative myelopathy may become sore from overuse of other areas of their body while trying to compensate for their hind end weakness.
STAGE 4 – LMN tetraplegia and brain stem signs (~ over 36 months) – At the end of the disease, the degeneration can progress to involve neck, brain stem, and brain. Patients will not be able to move all four limbs, have trouble breathing, and have difficulty with swallowing and tongue movement.
Some antioxidants that can help dogs with degenerative myelopathy are: Vitamins C, E and A. Carotenoids.
How Quickly Does Degenerative Myelopathy Progress? Unfortunately, DM tends to progress very quickly. Most dogs that have been diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy will become paraplegic within six months to a year.
Walking is a great way to strengthen your dog's back legs. If you're walking your pet, keep it slow and short. After all, a long walk could end up doing more harm than good. You could take your dog for a swim or try stretching your pet's hind legs for more strength.
Yes, dogs with Degenerative Myelopathy should stay as active as possible. Keeping a DM dog active can actually help slow down the progression of the disease. Physical therapy and regular structured exercises, including walking, can help dogs with DM maintain muscle strength and minimize their risk of muscle atrophy.
Some dogs may only require a few hours during physical activity, whereas others may need to keep the brace almost indefinitely. If they've experienced a severe injury or surgery, they may be required to wear a brace throughout recovery and, as needed, post-recovery.
Often, dogs are humanely euthanized within six to twelve months after the onset of clinical signs, due to the debilitating loss of mobility caused by this disease. Without euthanasia, DM can progress for more than three years and lead to an inability to walk or even breathe normally.
When it comes to knee injuries, a dog ACL brace is not an “A list” solution for most veterinarians. Here's why: In my experience, the use of a brace is pretty much never suggested by a veterinarian as the first-choice course of action after diagnosing knee injuries in dogs.
It typically takes a soft tissue injury 8-13 weeks to heal, so your dog should wear the knee brace consistently for this period of time.
The University of Louisville did a study simulating a dog's leg and a torn ACL, showed the brace did as well as any surgery limiting the bad motion. And that the more rigid the joints, meant the brace did a better job limiting the bad motion.
Prognosis for Dogs with Degenerative Myelopathy
The spinal cord will continue to degenerate, the dog will have trouble standing up from laying down, and mobility will become more difficult as time goes on. Eventually, a dog with DM will become incontinent. The final stage of DM is paralysis.
Sadly, most dogs with degenerative myelopathy eventually lose control of their legs, bladder and bowels completely, and need to be put to sleep. The average life expectancy of a dog with degenerative myelopathy is 1-2 years from diagnosis.
One of the first breeds in which the disease was diagnosed was the German Shepherd, so DM has also been called German Shepherd dog degenerative myelopathy. In the early stages, DM can be misdiagnosed as hip dysplasia, discospondylitis, a spinal tumor or injury, fibrocartilaginous embolism, or myasthenia gravis.
Treatment. There is currently no curative treatment for degenerative myelopathy. Medical management of the clinical signs may be attempted through use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat pain arising from compensations or through use of corticosteroids.
Exercises and techniques that may help relieve symptoms of cervical myelopathy include cervical traction, manual therapy techniques, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, cervical stabilisation exercises and dynamic upper and lower limb exercises.
No specific therapy is available to help nerve regeneration, but laser therapy and acupuncture may help recovery. Anti-inflammatory medications may also help if swelling is present. If voluntary movement, pain sensation, and spinal reflexes improve over 1 to 2 months, the outlook for recovery is good.
The clinical signs of mid-stage degenerative myelopathy include: Loss of tail movement. Jerky movement in the hind limbs when trying to walk.
Symptoms of Degenerative Myelopathy in Dogs
They will lose feeling in the hind limbs, which results in dragging of the paws, scuffing of the toenails and/or tops of the paws, and abnormal paw placement. Affected dogs will be wobbly and may knuckle over the paws, cross the hind limbs, or stumble while walking.
What are the long-term consequences of degenerative myelopathy? Unfortunately degenerative myelopathy progresses to paralysis i.e. an inability for your dog to walk and support their own bodyweight. The progression of the disease results in further weakness, muscle atrophy and finally faecal and urinary incontinence.