Laurie's Blogs.
Jan 2013
Ribs, Ribs, & More Ribs
We had a canine rehab intern with us at my clinic this past week. In the past, I used to feel stress about, and even responsible for, the types of cases that would come in that week. Despite the fact that it was out of my control, I felt bad if the intern was hoping to see a wealth of neuro cases, and that week we only had 2, or if they wanted to learn about the ultrasound machine, and we didn’t even have a case that we used it on once! I finally learned to stop stressing. I realized that the intern would see what ‘the universe’ had decided that they were intended to learn about.
And it’s been fascinating to witness it from that standpoint. Every intern comes away with a slightly different experience. Some are blown away by our customer service and customer connections – and want to replicate that in their own clinic. Some see SIJ upon SIJ until it hits them across the forehead that they had better start looking for these at home. Some take note of just how many of our ‘referrals’ are actually asking us for a diagnosis and treatment plan. Well, this week was rib week!
We saw sporting dogs with on / off episodes of front leg lameness and nothing to find but rib pain (especially in ribs 1 – 4). Some did not have much of a history of trauma, while one had suffered from ‘jarring’ of a leg into a rodent hole, resulting in the slamming of the fore-chest into the ground, while out on a hunt test. One had fallen off the dog walk in agility. Another poor fellow was simply recovering from the after-affects of a ‘love-making session’ (yes, on purpose) earlier in the year where he had thrown his pelvis and lumbar spine ‘out of sorts’, and had developed subsequent compensatory issues in his ribs that are just now the final piece of the puzzle to resolve.
There were dogs with rib (and cranial thoracic spine) issues subsequent to 1) weakness in the hind end because of a neurologic issues, and 2) hind end joint problems (hips and stifles being the prime culprits). These dogs tend to throw their weight forwards and literally ‘pull themselves’ up from sitting or lying, and lean forwards to increase weight on the front legs. Both of these movement strategies seem to be hard on the cranial thorax (spine & ribs).
Then there were the dogs that just played a little to hard! They had run into or had been run into by another dog. And I have also come to believe that repetitive strain/stress can play a part in simply being a small dog with a particular front leg dominance (as dogs do have dominant legs) that jumps off the couch frequently, for example. Because when I see dogs on a maintenance basis and I always find the same first rib issue on the same side – either I’m missing something (but trust me, I am looking at everything and racking my brain…), or the dog is doing something again and again to put himself ‘out’ the same way between each appointment!
Now how much grief can a rib dysfunction (dysfunction in physio terms = joint problem) cause an animal? Well if you have ever had a rib joint problem, you’d know that it could affect your ability to sit straight, or conversely bend forwards. It could impact your ability to turn in one or both directions, or to use you arm above your head or just in front of you. It could bestow a wave of pain when you yawn or sneeze! It could cause your arm to feel cold, numb, or weak! So, how much grief can a rib dysfunction cause? Well the answer is ‘a little, or a lot’.
And that was the message for this week. Always check the ribs... all of them… even the ones under the scapula. You may find a primary problem or a secondary problem… but if there is rib pain, it will be affecting function in some capacity.
So there you have it! That was the message for this week! Let me know what experience you’ve had with rib issues, because it just might be worth sharing!
Until next time… Cheers!
Laurie
