thor: Fearful behavior due to chronic back pain/sciatic nerve pain
8 yr, Male, 90lb lb Ridgeback
Thor
Fearful behavior due to chronic back pain/sciatic nerve pain
Healthy Dog - Fearful due to neuropathic pain
History
His whole life, he has been different.
He is afraid to climb stairs + worries alot
He lives with 4 dogs but is afraid of other dogs and can be aggressive.
Even on Prozac - it hard for him to rest
His doctor at Behavior Vets knew something was not right for him
CBPI Pain severity score by owner: 7
CBPI Pain interfering with mobility: 3
Exam
Maladaptive pain - fearful of touch
Spasm mid - TL spine
No lameness
Impossible for him to lay comfortably in sphinx with extension of the LS spine
Diagnostics/Treatment
Spine radiographs - appear normal
Shockwave of his spine helps
He gets his MRI and we find sciatic nerve entrapment that he likely always had
He did not seem to have less pain with:
○ Memantine/Amantadine
○ Prozac
His neurologist recommended Amitriptyline and he started to get better + shockwave session for back pain + Anicell Stem Cell Therapy and he is a new dog!!!!
Outcome and Timeline to Recovery
Thor desperately needed control of his chronic pain. He has come a long way and it took us a year to get this figured out.
He is a big, strong dog. In the past, everyone thought he was just strange, until we noticed some movements were difficult.
CBPI Pain severity per owner: 1/10
CBPI Interference score: 2/10
I have never seen him happier! I am so proud of his owner and his top-notch care and progress!
Maintenance Plan
Thor has a painful condition that needs to be managed but now we know how to help him and he is living his best life!
Many thanks to Dr. Windsor at Wheatridge Animal Hospital and Dr. Christensen at Behavior Vets for his team care approach + thank you, thank you to Kelli, Candice and Kristen at the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines for doing his physical rehabilitation and teaching his mom his exercises to keep him flexible and comfortable.
Regular therapy for flexibility, shockwave as needed and spine mobility exercises.
He takes Amitryptiline and I recommend Dasquin Advanced + ECM.
