Laurie's Blogs.

Hi Laurie,

I am not a vet, just a mere sports dog owner, trying to figure out the cause of my dog's problem (for almost a year!) I've had 3 different diagnoses given to me - one IVDD, another ACL tear and finally FCE, but today learnt that a iliopsoas tear could have been possible. I came across your website while researching iliopsoas injuries.

By way of background, my 4 year old agility sheltie is for all intents and purposes "fine" right now, running around and jumping, acting like her usual self, no pain at all. However, last June, she woke up one morning unable to pull her bottom up. She could hold the front of her body up with no problem, but would not pull her butt up. When I held her up, she would stand for a few seconds then plop down again. Long story short, the first vet diagnosed her with partial ACL tear on her right hind because my dog could actually get up and take a few steps at the clinic, but did not want to put weight on her right hind leg (toe touching). Wanting a second opinion, I took my dog to another vet where I was told she has IVDD and she was given a dexaforte jab. My dog returned to her usual self the very next morning. Crate rest for 3 weeks after that and then I slowly introduced physical exercise (physio ball work, swimming, etc) Since then I've noticed that she breaks her sit stays (she also does obedience) almost consistently because her right leg slides out sideways, and hear some on and off nail scuffing on the floor.

I have been putting off doing an MRI because our clinics here (I'm in Singapore) do not have MRI machines onsite and use human ones with little (if any!) heart monitoring (I'm not prepared to put my perfectly "fine" dog under anaesthetic under such conditions). There are no musculoskeletal ultrasound options/specialists available. I am however determined to figure out what happened as I haven't been able to sleep well for almost a year, worrying that whatever I've been doing (physical therapy, massage, swimming, resuming light agility training) might be making my dog worse. I've recently found a new clinic that has CT scan facilities (and will look into doing scans there). And I've also recently been taking my dog for acupuncture for her hind and fore legs. 

I apologize - I have rambled on but thought some background might be helpful! If I could please pick your brain on one or two questions, I would be most appreciative!

In your experience, have you seen dogs with iliopsoas strains or tears that aren't just lame, but present themselves as my dog has, in an acute fashion, not wanting to get up/lift her butt up? 

Thank you so much for your time. I truly appreciate any insight you can give! 

Best regards,

Mi.

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Hello Mi.,

So, to get right to your questions...

An iliopsoas strain will NEVER present as you described.

But the iliopsoas muscle can become tender to pressure when there is back pain.  So if you are finding pain in iliopsoas, THAT could correlated with IVDD or an FCE (where the nerve roots were affected / inflammed by the incident).

Your description does sound like the problem was neurologic (i.e. affecting spinal cord or nerve roots at the spinal level).

Monitor her back by pressing on the spinous processes of the verebra along her back.  Push straight down but also from side to side to see if she has any back pain.

If yes, then the easiest thing to describe / to do would be tail-pull traction.  Grasp the base of her tail and slowly pull.  You'll likely have to use your other hand to keep her in place... Pull slow and firm.  Hold for 15 seconds or up to 2 minutes. Repeat 10 times (or twice if holding for longer) and do it a couple of times a day.

The acupuncture should also be helpful.

Try retraining her sit-stays on a foot stool.  Where she will have to tuck her legs in properly under her.  It will help to build her strength in this aspect and reinforce proper positioning.

All the best,

Laurie

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Hi Laurie,

Thank you so very much for your detailed answers. I tried to check for back pain and she didn't seem to have any. The slow tail pulling will help her back pain? 

I will do as suggested re: training her sit stays on a stool. 

I am inclined towards thinking she had a neuro episode too. And because there is no pain at all and her recovery has been so quick, FCE sounds most plausible. This means I will need to keep up with the physical therapy.

Thank you once again for your insight Laurie. I wish we had people with your experience and expertise in my country! We're all DIY-ing physiotherapy on our own here.

Thanks again!

Mi

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Hi Mi.,

I would agree about the FCE then.

Keep up with the tail pulls - even if we think it's an FCE.  

You would still be stimulating the nerves and spinal cord... which is a good thing...

And keep up with your DIY physiotherapy!

Best of luck!

Laurie