Pet Stairs For Beds Or Cars
I should have prepared for this day sooner because it happened out of the blue. One day, my dog wouldnt hop into the backseat and he had to get lifted into the car.
After several weeks of research, I bought 2 styles and tested them out. One style was made of plastic with carpeted steps and the other style was folding steps that attach to the back of my SUV. I bought both styles with the full intention of returning the one my dog didnt like. Turns out, both styles are perfect for different reasons and I kept both.
You can see my full review here: Car Steps for Dogs and you can watch my dog using both styles in this video:
Why I Use the Foldable Pet Steps
When transporting my dog in the back of my jeep, I use these: fold-able stairs style and they were friendly on my budget. If youre looking for something even more substantial, check out the price and reviews on this product: High End Dog Stairs that hooks to the hatch latch.
I was very worried that my 90 pound dog wouldnt acclimate, but he did a great job after about 10 or so tries. Now he uses them without hesitation, but I still stay by his side and guide him.
I keep the foldable stairs right in my SUV and they also come in handy at the dog wash. My dog will not use the steep, skinny ramp that leads him into the high tub for his bath, but I can bring the fold-able steps inside and hell use them. Hallelujah!
When I Use the Plastic Pet Steps
Both sets of stairs have helped him tremendously.
How To Reduce Arthritis Symptoms In Cats
While you can’t prevent feline arthritis, there are some steps you can take to reduce the severity of signs and maintain a good quality of life for your cat.
Maintaining your cat at a healthy weight is essential. If an arthritic cat becomes overweight this places additional strain on already painful joints. If your arthritic cat is already overweight, talk with your veterinarian about how to safely encourage weight loss. Regulating your cat’s diet and encouraging exercise are the best ways to maintain your cat’s body weight. Your veterinarian may recommend a specific diet that promotes weight loss. Ration your pet’s food and treats and experiment with different types of toys to figure out which ones your cat prefers and keeps your cat the most active.
Make A Ginger Poultice
Applying crushed ginger to a painful join works along the same lines as capsaicinelements in the plant can deplete the bodys stores of substance P, a brain chemical that carries pain messages to your central nervous system. One study of 56 people found that ginger eased symptoms in 55 percent of people with osteoarthritis and 74 percent of those with RA. To treat yourself, peel and finely mince a 3-inch piece of fresh ginger. Mix it with just enough olive oil to form a paste, then apply it to the painful joint. Depending on where the pain is, you may need to wrap the paste in place with a gauze or a length of ace bandage. Leave in place for 10-15 minutes to allow the ginger to penetrate.
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What Are Arthritis Risk Factors
Risk factors for arthritis include the following:
What Is The Long
Some knee pain, especially pain caused by osteoarthritis, will likely be permanent. Thats because the structure of the knee is damaged. Without surgery or another type of extensive treatment, youll continue to feel pain, inflammation, and swelling in your knee.
The long-term outlook for chronic knee pain involves managing pain, preventing flare-ups, and working to reduce irritation to the knee.
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Home Remedies And Lifestyle
Regular exercise is strongly recommended for arthritis patients. Exercise can reduce pain and improve physical function, muscle strength, and quality of life for people with arthritis. While it can be difficult to be motivated to exercise when you are having symptoms such as pain or fatigue, choosing the right exercise to enjoy can make a big difference in your quality of life.
Eating a nutritious diet is important for maintaining ideal weight and for bone health, too. There is no known diet that can cure arthritis, so you can start by following the basics of healthy eating you may also benefit from incorporating anti-inflammatory foods.
Reducing stressmay also help calm the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis. Being under stress can heighten your pain perception. A study also found that psychological stress was associated with flares and relapse in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Home remedies to manage pain and stiffness can help you keep it from interfering with daily living. You can try tactics such as cryotherapy , heat therapy or warm water therapy , or self-massage. Beware of folk remedies.
Assistive devices can help protect your joints and make it easier for you to go about your day. Look into canes, walkers, raised toilet seats, grabbers, and other helpful devices.
Signs Of Arthritis In Cats
Cats tend to hide signs of pain quite effectively, which makes sense if you consider their ancestry. A sick animal in the wild is vulnerable to predators, so any sign of weakness must be hidden. This instinct makes it difficult for owners to know their cats is affected and whether treatment is necessary.
Observe your cat for any change in behavior or activity. If an older cat is more hesitant to climb stairs or jump onto a bed or table, it may be suffering from feline arthritis.
A cat with arthritis also may stop using the litter box, as climbing in and out causes pain. If you notice your cat reduces or limits its grooming this may also be a sign of arthritic joints movements that were once routine are more difficult and painful.
Watch for changes in your cat’s gait. If it looks like it’s doing a “bunny hop” or otherwise moving differently than usual, chances are it’s trying to find a comfortable way to move around without causing more stress on the arthritic body part.
If you are in doubt about whether your cat is in pain, it’s best to speak with your veterinarian, who will assess the cat and provide suggestions on how to help manage the pain.
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Make Your Own Capsaicin Cream
Capsaicin, the compound in chili peppers that gives them their heat, is an ingredient in many over-the-counter pain relief ointments. It works by reducing levels of a compound called substance P, which transmits pain signals to your brain. You can whip up your own massage oil by mixing a few dashes of ground cayenne with 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil. Apply it with gauze to unbroken skin on your painful joints several times a day. The first few doses will cause a mild burning sensation on the surface of your skin, but youll become desensitized to that feeling after a week or so. Just be sure to keep it away from your mouth, eyes, and other mucous membranes, where it will really sting.
What Types Of Surgery Treat Arthritis
- Surgery is generally reserved for those patients with arthritis that is particularly severe and unresponsive to the conservative treatments.
- Surgical procedures can be performed to relieve pain, improve function, and correct deformity.
- Occasionally, joint tissue is surgically removed for the purpose of biopsy and diagnosis.
- Doctors who specialize in joint surgery are orthopedic surgeons.
- Joint surgery using a viewing tube with a cutting instrument is called arthroscopy.
- Osteotomy is a bone-removal procedure that can help realign some of the deformity in selected patients, usually those with knee disease.
- Removal of inflamed joint lining tissue is called synovectomy.
- In some cases, severely degenerated joints are best treated by fusion or replacement with an artificial joint .
- “Total joint replacement” is a surgical procedure whereby a destroyed joint is replaced with artificial materials. For example, the small joints of the hand can be replaced with plastic material. Large joints, such as the hips or knees, are replaced with metals. Total hip and total knee replacements are now commonplace. These can bring dramatic pain relief and improved function.
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How Often Is Medical Follow
It should be noted that both before and especially after the diagnosis of arthritis, communication with the treating doctor is essential for optimal health.
- This is important from the standpoint of the doctor, so that he/she can be aware of the vagaries of the patient’s symptoms as well as their tolerance to and acceptance of various treatment options.
- It is also important from the standpoint of patients, so that they can be assured that they have an understanding of the diagnosis and how the condition does and might affect them.
- It is also crucial for the safest use of medications.
Regular follow-up with the health care professional for monitoring can be essential for optimal results and is crucial when medications are taken.
- People with many forms of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, can develop certain symptoms that are really warning signs of something occurring in their bodies that is not what the doctor expects to happen.
- These are signs that can also sometimes represent a significant danger. These “rheumatoid warning signs” are reasons to call the doctor so that they can be interpreted in light of the patient’s overall condition.
- When the doctor who is aware of your condition hears of these symptoms, he/she can determine whether or not they are serious and if any action should be taken immediately or in the near future.
Here are some warning signs that warrant contacting the doctor’s office:
Install Area Rugs Or Mat Flooring
I used to be really proud of my homes gleaming hardwood floors, well, I guess I still am but they are currently covered in area rugs because they are not good for treating dogs with arthritis at home.
Its really hard for bigger dogs to get up from a hardwood floor and all that strain makes the progression of arthritis more rapid. On top of that, an arthritic dog simply doesnt have the core muscles necessary to confidently walk across slippery hardwood.
If you have wall to wall carpeting, that is great! If not, a bunch of sturdy area rugs will work. Just make sure they have grip backs or place them on top of something like this: rug gripping material or use carpet tape so your arthritic does doesnt have a wipe-out.
The other solution is those roll out mats with rubber backing. They are excellent, dont move and will stop your arthritic dog from sliding.
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Cover Slippery Floors In Your House
- Use rugs, carpets or anti-slip mats to make floors around the house less slippy.
- Dogs with arthritis have weak muscles, which means they are prone to slipping and struggle to get up. Slipping can cause further injury.
- If you cant cover the whole house, focus these in the areas that your dog uses the most.
How Is Spinal Arthritis Diagnosed
Your doctor may use some or all of the following diagnostic methods to confirm spinal arthritis:
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Medical history and physical exam
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Blood tests for genetic markers and/or RA antibodies
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X-rays of the spine to locate the arthritic joint
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MRI, CT scan, myelography, bone scan and/or ultrasound to zero in on the damage, detect nerve and spinal cord involvement or rule out other causes
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Joint aspiration: testing of the synovial fluid inside a joint
To pinpoint the painful joint, your doctor may numb it with an injection and check whether the pain goes away.
Degenerative Disk Disease: Janâs Story
At 78, Jan Greer wanted to stay active and athletic. Herniated disks, stenosis and other degenerative back problems were causing him unbearable pain. When the pain became too much to bear, he turned to Johns Hopkins.
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The Course And Clinical Picture
Predicting the course of this disease is almost impossible. In some cases, seropositive rheumatoid arthritis may not produce obvious manifestations for many years, limited only to minor soreness in the joints in the mornings and during stress on them. In other cases, the development of the disease is violent, in a short time deforming all small joints, including the vertebrae of the cervical spine, leading a person to disability.
Curved fingers and toes due to swollen and unnaturally deformed joints – such a picture can be seen if you look at the hands of grandmothers in public transport or in shops, markets. Often this disease is perceived precisely as an integral companion of old age. But, according to medical statistics, young people suffer from seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, and every year the age limit is getting lower, hence the disease is getting worse every year.
It is worth knowing and remembering that seropositive rheumatoid arthritis is not only a joint disease. Progressing it is able to infect the entire connective tissue in the body, and it is part of all our organs. Thus, the patient who is diagnosed with the above diagnosis automatically falls into the risk group for the development of diseases of the lymph nodes, liver, heart, spleen, lungs, organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Consult A Physical Therapist
Physical therapy absolutely comes into play when trying to manage arthritis foot pain and there are all kinds of PT modalities that can be used to decrease inflammation, including massage, whirlpool, cold packs, ultrasound, and lasers, Dr. Spielfogel says. Once the initial inflammation has been reduced, a physical therapist will develop a program of stretching and strengthening to restore flexibility and improve strength to increase balance and reduce stress on the foot joints.
Dr. Sutera finds that patients in the earlier stages of arthritis benefit the most from physical therapy, as they often still have flexibility and mostly need help restoring their balance.
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Hot & Cold Therapy Wraps
We talked about a heating pad earlier, but arthritis pain can be alleviated with hot and cold treatment. Usually, apply heat before long walks, travel or exercise and apply a cold therapy AFTER the long walk, travel or exercise.
Think: Warm-warms up muscles and Cold-cools inflammation.
There is a great product that offers both options based on what is needed for your arthritic dog. These hot/cold therapy actually get strapped onto your dog so he can wear it for 20 minutes leaving your hands free to whip up dinner.
If you are finding success with a heating pad, these strap on arthritis therapies make your life a little easier. Plus, you can get the right style for your your dogs arthritis. They can be geared toward the arthritis of the spine, hips, elbows or all.
Tips & Products To Help Your Aging Or Arthritic Dog
These tips and products listed below have helped to improve the comfort level, quality of life, and ability to get around for many older and arthritic dogs. Have a look and try them out you may well be surprised at just how peppy your old dog becomes!
You may notice that I dont mention medications in this article. Its not because they aren’t important and helpful, because they are often very important and helpful. Ive done this because medications arent the only important and helpful components to helping older dogs with their pain and mobility issues. You can read more about what supplements and medications can be helpful with arthritis and joint pain here. The simple, yet safe and effective, tips and products I mention below arent well-known and all too often overlooked. For the benefit of all aging and arthritic dogs, that needs to change.
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Should I See A Doctor
Its common to have aches and pains in your muscles and joints from time to time. This may especially be true if you take part in unusual or strenuous physical activities.
So, how can you tell the difference between the early signs of arthritis and normal pain and stiffness? And, how do you know when you should see a doctor about your symptoms?
If you have swelling or stiffness that you cant explain and that doesn’t go away in a few days, or if it becomes painful to touch your joints, you should see a doctor. The earlier you get a diagnosis and start the right type of treatment, the better the outcome will be.
Here are some other things to think about that might help you decide whether you need to see a doctor:
Other Pain Management Techniques
Splints
If a joint is very swollen and painful, your doctor or therapist may suggest you use a splint to rest the joint . This helps reduce swelling and pain. Your doctor may recommend that you wear the splint during certain activities all day or only at night. This depends on how severe the swelling or pain is.
Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep restores your energy so you can better cope with the pain. It also rests your joints to reduce the pain and swelling. Only you know how much sleep your body needs, so get into the habit of listening to your body. If you feel tired and ache after lunch every day, for example, take a brief nap. This can help restore your energy and spirits.
If you have trouble sleeping at night, try relaxing quietly in the afternoon rather than taking a nap. Here are some other tips to help you sleep better:
- take a warm bath before going to bed
- listen to soothing music or a relaxation tape
- spend some quiet time by yourself before you go to bed
- read
Do not take sleeping pills unless your doctor recommends them.
Massage and topical lotions
Massage increases blood flow and brings warmth to the sore area. You can massage your own muscles or you can ask your doctor to recommend a professional who is trained to give massages. If you have arthritis in your shoulders, elbows, wrists or fingers, you may not be able to give yourself a massage.
Tips for safe massage:
Resources
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