Laurie's Blogs.

Thank you to Dr Julie Buzby for submitting these abstracts related to Swimmer's Tail / Cold Tail / Limber Tail.

Rounding out your education and thought-processing on Swimmers' tail (cold tail, limber tail, etc), here are a couple of abstracts.

What Is Limber Tail Syndrome?

Canine Pract. 1997 ;22(5-6):1. 2 Refs

Jan E. Steiss¹

¹Scott-Ritchey Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Article Abstract

Limber tail syndrome typically consists of a young adult dog which acutely develops a flaccid tail. The tail either hangs down from the tail base, or is held horizontally for 3 or 4 inches and then drops down. With this low tail set, the dog is eliminated from competition. Palpation of the base of the tail may elicit a pain response. Owners of Labrador retrievers have remarked that their dogs seem very uncomfortable and appear to be in pain during the acute stages. Treatment usually consists of rest, and dogs recover spontaneously. Complete recovery usually occurs within 2 weeks, often within a few days. About one-third of affected dogs experience recurrence later in training. Various ages of dogs may be affected, with ages ranging from 6 months to 9 years. The most frequent age of onset in English pointers was 2 years. 

The cause of limber tail is not known. More than one cause may be possible. Owners and trainers report that most cases are associated with a hard workout the previous day (especially in unconditioned dogs), or cold, wet weather the previous night, or cage transport. A few people said they use grabbing of the tail as a method of correction during training, but none of them thought that this type of handling caused limber tail. In retrievers, cases of limber tail are also frequently associated with heavy hunting, as well as swimming or bathing with water that is too cold or warm. Other factors such as tail conformation (high tailed or very active tail), sex predisposition (more frequent in males), and inadequate nutrition have also been suggested. 

Without knowing the cause(s), it is obviously difficult to prescribe treatment. From what we know at this point, antibiotics, vitamin supplements, and expression of the anal sacs do not seem warranted. However, many experience owners and trainers who are familiar with limber tail do not present an affected dog to a veterinarian. Based on studies-in-progress, it appears that limber tail is associated with damage to the tail muscles. The dogs examined to date early in the course of the disease have shown elevated muscle enzymes such as creatine phosphokinase. There are certain similarities between this condition and ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’ in humans. 

Coccygeal muscle injury in English Pointers (limber tail)

J Vet Intern Med. 1999 Nov-Dec;13(6):540-8.

J Steiss¹; K Braund; J Wright; S Lenz; J Hudson; W Brawner; J Hathcock; R Purohit; L Bell; R Horne

¹Scott-Ritchey Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA. 

Article Abstract

A condition colloquially referred to as "limber tail" and "cold tail" is familiar to people working with hunting dogs, primarily Pointers and Labrador Retrievers. The typical case consists of an adult dog that suddenly develops a flaccid tail. The tail either hangs down from the tail base or is held out horizontally for several inches from the tail base and then hangs straight down or at some degree below horizontal. Initially, the hair on the dorsal aspect of the proximal tail may be raised and dogs may resent palpation of the area 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) from the tail base. Most dogs recover spontaneously within a few days to weeks. Anecdotal reports suggest that anti-inflammatory drugs administered within 24 hours after onset hasten recovery. Less than one half of affected dogs experience a recurrence. Affected Pointers almost always have a history of prolonged cage transport, a hard workout the previous day, or exposure to cold or wet weather Most owners and trainers familiar with the condition do not seek veterinary assistance. In cases where people are not familiar with this disease, other conditions such as a fracture, spinal cord disease, impacted anal glands, or prostatic disease have been incorrectly diagnosed. We examined 4 affected Pointers and found evidence of coccygeal muscle damage, which included mild elevation of creatine kinase early after onset of clinical signs, needle electromyographic examination showing abnormal spontaneous discharges restricted to the coccygeal muscles several days after onset, and histopathologic evidence of muscle fiber damage. Specific muscle groups, namely the laterally positioned intertransversarius ventralis caudalis muscles, were affected most severely. Abnormal findings on thermography and scintigraphy further supported the diagnosis.