As a pet parent, it hurts to see your dog in pain and limping from arthritis, no longer able to be the life-loving, active companion you’ve always known. But there’s good news. A number of treatment options are available that can significantly improve your dog’s quality of life.
Here’s an overview of what to know about various methods of treating dog arthritis, including their potential side effects. Read on to learn more and talk to your veterinarian about what he or she recommends as the best choice to help your dog move more comfortably again.
Pain relievers given as daily pills or chews
Daily pain relievers, called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), are a common choice to help reduce the discomfort of dog arthritis by masking the pain causing your dog to limp.
What to know about NSAIDs: Be aware that you have to remember to give these meds for dog arthritis every day. Forgetting to give NSAIDs can lead to inconsistent pain relief.
You also need to be aware that there are safety concerns with these drugs. Because they are given by mouth, they have to go through your dog’s whole body to treat the pain in the joint(s). This can result in side effects, especially when given for long periods of time and/or at higher doses. These side effects include:
- Vomiting, diarrhea, poor appetite, and possible stomach ulcers
- Liver and kidney damage
- Lethargy, changes in behavior, and, in rare cases, kidney failure or seizures
Arthritis treatments given by joint injections frequently throughout the year
There are a number of joint injections that work in different ways to relieve dog arthritis pain. These include steroids, joint cushioning lubricants and gels, platelet-rich plasma, and stem cells (from bone marrow or fatty tissue).
What to know about joint injections: While these dog arthritis meds all work to address pain, they are not designed to target the inflammation that’s causing your dog’s arthritis and they can’t regenerate damaged cartilage.
Dog injections need to be given at regular intervals. This means frequent trips to your veterinarian. And there are safety concerns with each of these joint injections because of their potential side effects.
- Frequent use of steroids can result in cartilage deterioration and tendon weakening
- Cushioning gels may cause discomfort and swelling, lethargy, and decreased appetite in some dogs
- Platelet-rich plasma injections can cause bleeding, tissue damage, infection, and nerve injuries
- Stem cells have been associated with immune reactions and tumor formation
Pain relievers given by injection under the skin
These injections can help manage OA pain by blocking a protein called nerve growth factor (or NGF), which reduces your dog’s ability to feel arthritis pain. They are given monthly by a subcutaneous injection that goes just under the skin.
What to know about NGF injections: These meds for dog arthritis provide a different way of masking pain. However, they don’t address the inflammation that’s causing arthritis, so joint deterioration will continue to progress. In fact, they’ve been associated with rapidly progressive arthritis. Read more here.
Like other pain-relieving shots, NGF injections need to be given every month, which means frequent trips to your veterinarian. And because they’re injected under the skin, they have to go through your dog’s entire body to relieve joint symptoms. This exposes the whole body to the active drug, which can result in a range of minor or very serious side effects.
- Minor side effects include lack of energy, stomach issues, and soreness or swelling at the injection site
- More serious safety concerns include problems with balance and the ability to stand, paralysis, loss of bladder control, excessive thirst, seizures, muscle weakness, and even death
Arthritis treatments given by injections into the muscle
These “chondroprotective” injections are designed to help protect the lining of the joint from breaking down and causing pain.
What to know about chondroprotective injections. These injections work by inhibiting the enzymes that break down cartilage, which stimulates tissue repair and increases joint lubrication. But, like other injections, they don’t directly address the underlying inflammation causing the disease.
These drugs are given by multiple injections over many weeks and months, which again means frequent trips to the veterinarian. And, because they’re given into the muscle, they expose your dog’s entire body to the drug as it makes its way to the joint, which can cause side effects such as:
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Lack of energy
- Loss of appetite
Targeted arthritis treatment given by a joint injection once a year
A completely different approach to dog arthritis is called Synovetin OA®. It goes beyond pain relievers by acting on the driver of the disease itself—inflammation—not just arthritis symptoms. That means very long-lasting pain relief and the potential to delay further joint damage, as seen in early studies using rodent models.
What to know about Synovetin OA. This targeted treatment is given as a simple, one-time, in-office joint injection. Once inside the joint, it goes to work, exactly where it’s needed to help restore joint health.
Because Synovetin OA is targeted only to the joint, it doesn’t spread throughout your dog’s entire body like medications do, so there are no systemic safety concerns. Extensive published studies and real-world use in 1000s of dogs have shown it is exceptionally safe, with no side effects other than potential tenderness where the shot was given for a few days following treatment.
Read more about how 1 simple treatment with Synovetin OA can give your dog up to 1 whole year of safe and effective pain relief.
