Articles | Canine Arthritis Resources and Education

From the Literature: Early OA Management in Growing Dogs

By Gwen Francisco, BA, MFA, LVT, CVPP “A proposed framework for practical multimodal management of osteoarthritis in growing dogs” Marcellin-Little DJ, Hulse DA, Huntingford, JL, Grubb T, Brunke MW, Pechette A, Frank B. Front. Vet. Sci., 27 April 2025 Sec. […]

Female Nurse Checking Out French Bulldog

The Role of Trigger Points in Canine Osteoarthritis

Guest article by: Kara Amstutz, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRT, CVPP, CVA How trigger points can be applied to your canine OA treatment plans The concept of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in human medicine has been around for a very long time. […]

Massage and OA: How it helps manage chronic pain in dogs

Guest article by Dr. Megan Ridley, DVM, and Denise Theobald, LMT, CVMRT, NCCMT Dr. Ridley is the Medical Director at Integrative Pet Care Chicago. Ms. Theobald is the owner/director of Canine Massage Chicago. How does massage fit into an OA […]

When Should I Laser A Patient with Osteoarthritis?

guest post by Laurie McCauley, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRT, CVA, CVC When should you use laser therapy with your OA patients? In a way, “When should I use laser therapy for a patient with osteoarthritis?” is a trick question. This is […]

Gabapentin and Pregabalin for Pain Relief

Does gabapentin really provide analgesia or does it just make my patient sleepy? Guest article by Tamara Grubb, DVM, PhD., DACVAA Like most chronic diseases, chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis can be very difficult to treat. Chronicity increases the disease […]

PEMF: Old is New Again

By Kara Amstutz, DVM, CCRT, CVPP, CVA Resident, American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Osteoarthritis is a progressive, debilitating condition estimated to affect approximately 20% of dogs ≥ 1 year of age and 90% of dogs > 5 […]

What you need to know about Librela

What is LibrelaTM ? For pet parents, here is a link to the Zoetis provided Client Information Sheet. It is important that you read this if your vet has prescribed Librela for your dog. Librela (aka, bedinvetmab injection; aka Barensa […]

Pain Management: Anti-inflammatories

A review of how anti-inflammatories work and different available classes The Arachidonic Acid Cascade Every cell in the body is surrounded by a phospholipid bilayer (cell membrane) that is made of polyunsaturated fats. Arachidonic acid (AA) is part of the […]

Pain Management: NSAIDs overview

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic pain in dogs. Pain management must be the foundation for treating OA and preserving the quality of life. The phrase “quality of life” is most often used when discussing end-of-life decision making […]

Pain Management: Adjunctive Oral Analgesics

Adjunctive Oral Analgesics: Targeting the peripheral and central nervous system While NSAIDs are currently considered the foundation of oral pain management for dogs with OA, it is important to recognize that PGE2/EP4 (the target of NSAIDs) is only one of […]