Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injury is one of the more common orthopedic problems encountered in our canine patients. Nearly 270,000 dogs in North America alone rupture their CCL each year, and back in 2003 it was estimated that pet owners spent over $1.3 billion for the treatment of CCL disease in dogs.
Surgical repair is typically recommended to restore joint stability and prevent the onset of secondary osteoarthritis. Postoperatively, the management plan typically includes physical rehabilitation to promote return to function.
Humans undergo surgical repair of ACL, and it's established that diet along with physical therapy play an important role in post-op recovery.
In this specialty update we report findings of a clinical study that examined the effects of diet (control vs therapeutic) and rehabilitation on healing, post-op pain and osteoarthritis scores, and rate of recovery of dogs that underwent TPLO surgery for repair of cranial cruciate ligament rupture.
Running time: 11 mins
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