Laurie's Blogs.

I came across a paper that looked at the association between individual radiographic findings and improvement after spinal manipulation and home exercise among older adults with back-related disability(1).  It was a study of 120 adults (Mean age of 70.4years) with baseline lumbar radiographs and moderate back pain.  The radiographs revealed disc degeneration (53.3% moderate, 13.3% severe), anterolisthesis (53.3%), retrolisthesis (36.6%) and scoliosis (35.0%).  The received 12-weeks of spinal manipulative therapy and home exercise prescription. After 12-weeks of treatment, 51 (42.5%) participants achieved 30% improvement in back disability.  The authors found no association between a predetermined subset of radiographic findings and improvement in back-related disability among this sample of older adults.

I then wondered about the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in the elderly, and found a systematic review(2).  It reviewed 35 papers that encompassed 135,059 elderly individuals aged between 60 and 102 years, and the prevalence of LBP ranged from 21% to 75%. The levels of functional disability, as well as functional difficulties, activities of daily living, and physical capacity, were identified in 60% of the studies.

This led me to wonder what the incidence of back pain unrelated to intervertebral disc disease / extrusion/ herniation there might be in dogs.  So, I went down that PubMed rabbit hole to find:

•     A 1996 paper that looked at 25 cases of dogs with back pain alone, found that spinal cord compression was detected on myelography in 20 of 25 (80%) dogs(3).

•     A study of 57 German Shepherd dogs in active service found low back pain and/or neural deficits in 21 of the dogs. No correlation between the neurological and the radiographic findings were found(4). 

•     Another study that I’ve written about before, evaluated the efficacy of chiropractic treatments on Boxer puppies within the first year of life as a measure to prevent development of spondylosis. The frequency of occurrence was significantly lower in the treated dogs (25.0%) than in the controls (46.5%)(5).

•     A retrospective radiographic study reported the prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and spondylosis was 3.8% (78/2041) and 18.0% (367/2041), respectively. Of dogs with DISH, 67.9% (53/78) also had spondylosis, whereas 14.0% (53/367) of dogs with spondylosis also had DISH. Dogs with DISH and/or spondylosis were significantly older than those without spinal exostosis. The prevalence of DISH and spondylosis was 40.6% (28/69) and 55.1% (38/69), respectively, in Boxer dogs(6).

So, what is the take away?   Basically, the research that I was hoping to find, simply isn’t out there.  These are interesting studies, and they indicate that back pain (not related to IVDD) does exist.  However, clinical research into spinal manual therapy for dogs is severely lacking.  So, I guess that leads us to continuing on with anecdotal evidence for now!

That’s it!  

Until next time,

Cheers!  Laurie

References:

1. Maiers MJ, Albertson AK, Major C, Mendenhall H, Petrie CP. The association between individual radiographic findings and improvement after chiropractic spinal manipulation and home exercise among older adults with back-related disability: a secondary analysis. Chiropr Man Therap. 2025 Jan 7;33(1):2. 
2. de Souza IMB, Sakaguchi TF, Yuan SLK, Matsutani LA, do Espírito-Santo AS, Pereira CAB, Marques AP. Prevalence of low back pain in the elderly population: a systematic review. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2019 Oct 28;74:e789. 
3. Sukhiani HR, Parent JM, Atilola MA, Holmberg DL. Intervertebral disk disease in dogs with signs of back pain alone: 25 cases (1986-1993). J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1996 Oct 1;209(7):1275-9. PMID: 8837650.
4. Scharf G, Steffen F, Grünenfelder F, Morgan JP, Flückiger M. The lumbosacral junction in working german shepherd dogs -- neurological and radiological evaluation. J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med. 2004 Feb;51(1):27-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0442.2004.00587.x. PMID: 15086508.
5. Halle KS, Granhus A. Veterinary Chiropractic Treatment as a Measure to Prevent the Occurrence of Spondylosis in Boxers. Vet Sci. 2021 Sep 17;8(9):199. 
6. Kranenburg HC, Voorhout G, Grinwis GCM, Hazewinkel HAW, Meij BP. Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and spondylosis deformans in purebred dogs: a retrospective radiographic study. Vet J. 2011 Nov;190(2):e84-e90.