FELINE HIP XRAY NORMAL SERIES

The PennHip method however can be used to predict whether a given dog is likely to develop hip dysplasia, despite the fact that the OFA method is still more popular among veterinarians and breeders. It also doesn't tell us when a pet will begin to show signs of the disease.

But the severity of the dysplasia as seen on a normal X-ray doesn't always indicate the degree of pain or lameness (limping). But observant veterinarians will know it's there even before limping and other more obvious signs are present.īy 2 years of age, 95% of animals that have genes for hip dysplasia will show evidence on X-rays. Whining and complaining is just not in their nature. That's because dogs don't display pain the same way we humans do. In my experience, most clients are unaware of their pets' hip status, especially when pain is not yet obvious to them. Several studies in veterinary journals have highlighted how common hip dysplasia is across different dog breeds. Giant, large, and dwarfed, small breed dogs are most often affected, but mixed breed dogs and cats are not immune either. It's able to accurately predict the severity of a dog's hip disease even when no evidence is immediately evident through other methods.

PennHip is another method that more objectively assesses the quality of pets' hips. The Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) will accept your veterinarian's X-rays and make a subjective determination of hip quality. But other methods are now widely available to help predict the likelihood that dogs, in particular, will be affected by hip dysplasia (cats, at present, will have to wait for these techniques to become available for them). Standard X-rays are the obvious way to identify the problem once signs occur. Loss of muscle mass in one or both thighs, reluctance to jump, a funny way of walking, or slowness in rising can also signal the presence of hip dysplasia. Limping is the most obvious sign of hip dysplasia, but as if to confuse us further, is not always present. Unfortunately, this unwanted process inevitably leads to more pain whenever the pet moves. The body then attempts to minimize pain by creating bone where bone shouldn't be so as to minimize movement of the joint. Because the bones of the hip joint don't line up just right, inappropriate, painful rubbing occurs. Because its severity is variable due to the way this disease is inherited, some pets will show signs as early as four months of age, while others surprise us with symptoms that appear only when they reach middle age or even later.Ĭrippling arthritis (often referred to as osteoarthritis) is the result in all cases.

The problem with hip dysplasia is that it's not always obvious that your pet has it.

FELINE HIP XRAY NORMAL SERIES

But this last point is a complex matter, especially when you consider that hip dysplasia is acquired primarily through hereditary means when an animal (usually a large breed dog) inherits a series of bad genes instructing the body to assemble the hip joint's components (the femur and the pelvis) together poorly. Hip dysplasia is painful and expensive to treat and one or both hips may be involved. More specifically, hip dysplasia is when the femoral head (the ball portion of the femur) and the acetabulum (the pelvis's hip socket) align poorly and are unable to provide the smooth movement a pet requires for a lifetime of weight bearing and normal wear and tear. Hip dysplasia is a genetic disease in pets that causes mild to severe changes to the inner workings of the hip joint. It's very common in large dogs, relatively common in smaller dogs, and it's even seen in cats. In the world of small animal veterinary medicine, hip dysplasia is considered the mother of all orthopedic diseases.

Feline hip xray normal