Forelimb lameness: The key to recovery is owner education

Successful recovery from forelimb lameness is about more than just the right clinical diagnosis. It often comes down to what happens once the patient leaves the exam room. In this video, Leilani Alvarez, DVM, DACVSMR, CVA, CCRT, service head of the Integrative and Rehabilitative Medicine Department at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York, New York, highlights why owner education is the most critical factor in treating complex issues like shoulder tendinopathies. Because these soft tissues have a limited blood supply and are highly prone to reinjury, long-term healing requires strict activity changes. Alvarez explains how managing common behaviors, like jumping on furniture or pulling on a lead, is the real key to professional success.

Below is the video transcript, lightly edited for clarity.

Alvarez: Hi, I'm Dr Leilani Alvarez. I'm the head of Integrative and Rehabilitative Medicine at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City.

It's a great question: how can we improve outcomes for treating forelimb lameness? And I'll tell you that it's not an easy one, but it's 100% dependent on owner compliance. What that means is, as a general practitioner, you need to spend the time on owner education.

One of the things that I find makes forelimb lameness very frustrating, particularly those shoulder tendinopathies, is that these dogs are often badly behaved. They are jumping on and off furniture or pulling on a lead, and that is the contributing factor to the recurrence of their lameness. Because remember, tendons and ligaments don't have a great blood supply, and they're going to be susceptible to reinjury. A lot of the success is dependent on activity restrictions. It means that you can't let your dog off-leash, you can't let your dog jump on and off furniture, and you need to institute strengthening exercises—which you need to do at home with your dog—in order to have that long-term recovery. So, I would say the real key to success is owner compliance, and that means owner education.