Help for ACL Injury in Dogs & Cats, Niacinamide

Arthritis has always been the most common problem we see in older pets, and now we’re seeing it in young dogs because of the high incidence of ACL injuries.  When the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee is damaged, the joint loses stability. Over time, instability leads to the development of arthritis.

We can help dogs with unstable knees with surgery, and this will help stabolize the knee, but it will not eliminate the development of arthritis, it just delays the age at which the arthritis develops.

Signs of pain

There are behaviours that indicate pets with knee injuries and other causes of arthritis are in pain:

·          Slow to rise from sitting position

·          Circle multiple times before sitting or laying down

·          Make a plopping sound when they lay down because they can’t bend their knees and get close to the floor

·          Lag behind when walking

·          Sit down on walks

·          Reluctant to jump into the car

·          Grumpy

·          Snap when accidentally get nudged

To help these dogs, we use the following therapies

1.     Acupuncture, including points GB 34 and ST 36 at the knee

2.     Laser therapy, especially the setting E

3.     Herbs & supplements, including boswellia & turmeric, Sasha’s Blen

4.     Omega 3 fatty acids, including Vet Plus Missing Link with 1000 mg glucosamine/tab

5.     Homeopathy, including Traumeel & Zeel

6.     Rehab exercises, including stretches, full range of motion, walking backward

7.     Salt water swimming with no quick foot-planted turns

8.     Adequan injections

9.     NSAIDs, including Metacam, Deramaxx, EtoGesic, Rimadyl, Piroxicam

10.  Supplements including Niacinamide

 Pet families are often familiar with the first 9 steps, but many have not heard of using Niacinamide.

Niacinamide also called Nicotinamide

Niacinamide is a systemic therapeutic agent. It improves joint mobility, muscle strength, decreases fatigability. It increases maximal muscle working capacity, reduces or eliminates arthritic joint pain. Niacinamide heals broken strands of DNA and improves many kinds of CNS functioning.

Unlike many of the other therapies, Niacinamide works slowly. It takes three months of niacinamide therapy before we can judge effectiveness.

No matter what we do, some joints are so injured by the arthritic process that no amount of niacinamide therapy will cause improvement. These dogs are great candidates for stem cell therapy.

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