Treating Joint Pain With Tramadol

David Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS, orthopedic staff surgeon at Veterinary Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group in Annapolis, Maryland, says he stopped using tramadol for his canine patients about 5 years ago. We're moving toward a trend where veterinarians are realizing that tramadol probably isn’t very effective in terms of controlling joint pain, he explains.

Rather than being a true opioid in controlling pain, Dr. Dycus suspects tramadol effects serotonin levels.