My very active Lab sustained a microfracture to her front shoulder bone in September 2007. Given the location of the injury, putting a cast on her seems to be impossible. My vet recommended Metacam (anti-inflammatory) for the swelling and pain management, 2 weeks total rest and limiting her movements (no jumping or running up and down the stairs). He also warned me that the healing process for this type of injury is long, and not to lose hope. But it's not easy.
Since then, I've had only limited success in helping her heal. She was doing well until, in January, she decided to bound towards another dog in the park and seemed to reactivate the fracture (followed by more severe limping, at which time I started the treatment over with 2 weeks of complete rest, then short amounts of exercise, increasing gradually). Because of the interruption in her normally busy routine (she used to get at least 1.5 hrs of exercise per day), she's put on 8 lbs over the winter, which isn't helping anything.
I'm trying to increase her exercise daily, depending upon her limping. In order to increase her metabolism, I feed twice daily (2 c of kibble in the morning, 1 in the evening. She's on Eagle Pack Holistic), and am replacing her evening meal with low-cal alternatives (cottage cheese with fruit or egg, bits of lean meat, etc.). It's really frustrating, though, because the progress is so slow, and she is an active girl who loves to run and play (which I now have to restrain, to my great dismay).
Has anyone had any success in treating microfractures? Is there anything I should be doing in addition to the above? Anything I can add to her diet to help? I'd really appreciate the advice. I miss my hiking companion and hate seeing my baby limp like this.
Thanks in advance,
Ruth Ann
Since then, I've had only limited success in helping her heal. She was doing well until, in January, she decided to bound towards another dog in the park and seemed to reactivate the fracture (followed by more severe limping, at which time I started the treatment over with 2 weeks of complete rest, then short amounts of exercise, increasing gradually). Because of the interruption in her normally busy routine (she used to get at least 1.5 hrs of exercise per day), she's put on 8 lbs over the winter, which isn't helping anything.
I'm trying to increase her exercise daily, depending upon her limping. In order to increase her metabolism, I feed twice daily (2 c of kibble in the morning, 1 in the evening. She's on Eagle Pack Holistic), and am replacing her evening meal with low-cal alternatives (cottage cheese with fruit or egg, bits of lean meat, etc.). It's really frustrating, though, because the progress is so slow, and she is an active girl who loves to run and play (which I now have to restrain, to my great dismay).
Has anyone had any success in treating microfractures? Is there anything I should be doing in addition to the above? Anything I can add to her diet to help? I'd really appreciate the advice. I miss my hiking companion and hate seeing my baby limp like this.
Thanks in advance,
Ruth Ann
