06/09/2025
🐾 Is Your Dog Slowing Down? It Might Be Osteoarthritis. Here's How Rehab Can Help. 🐾
Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 1 in 5 dogs, causing chronic pain, stiffness, and a reduced quality of life. You might notice your pup hesitating to jump, lagging behind on walks, or seeming stiff after naps. These could be early signs of joint degeneration — and they’re treatable.
💡 What is Canine Osteoarthritis?
OA is a progressive joint disease where cartilage breaks down, leading to pain and inflammation. It’s common in senior dogs, but also in younger dogs with past injuries or joint issues.
🔄 How Rehab Helps
Canine rehabilitation isn't just for post-surgery! It plays a vital role in managing OA by:
✔️ Improving joint mobility
✔️ Strengthening supportive muscles
✔️ Reducing pain through therapeutic exercises, laser therapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture & more
✔️ Helping owners manage weight, movement, and comfort at home
📚 Evidence-Based Benefits
A study published in Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice (Millis & Levine, 2014) shows that multimodal rehab can significantly reduce pain and improve mobility in arthritic dogs. Another study by Moreau et al. (2003) demonstrated measurable improvements in dogs undergoing physical therapy compared to those on medications alone.
📏 How Can You Tell If Your Dog Is In Pain?
Pain in pets can be subtle. Fortunately, there are great tools to help you assess your dog’s comfort level at home:
🔹 Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI)
🔹 Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs (LOAD)
🔹 Helsinki Chronic Pain Index (HCPI)
🧰 Access these tools here:
📎 https://www.zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist
📎 https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/research/life-sciences/load/
📎 https://eltd.ca/education/helsinki-chronic-pain-index/
🦴 Bottom Line
Osteoarthritis is manageable — and your dog doesn’t have to live in pain. If you’ve noticed subtle (or not-so-subtle) changes in your pup’s behavior or mobility, talk to your vet or a certified canine rehab therapist.
✨ Let’s help our dogs age comfortably, stay active, and enjoy life to the fullest!
Use this quiz to see if your dog may be showing signs of osteoarthritis