Articles | Canine Arthritis Resources and Education

How massage can help relieve pain in dogs with OA

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 […]

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 […]

Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy

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 […]

How to Find the Right Veterinary Team for Your Dog’s Arthritis

We received a question from a CARE Pet Parent asking how they can find a veterinary team to help them manage their dog’s arthritis. We thought this would be a good opportunity to help other concerned pet parents that may […]

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 […]

Comprehensive OA Management: The CARE Quad

The phrase “multi-modal management” is not a new concept in the treatment of canine OA. In fact, it was popularized in the early 2000s when veterinarians began to recognize there are options beyond “Rest and Rimadyl.” To be clear, Rimadyl […]

Evidence-Based Medicine vs. Evidence-Guided Medicine

The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) can be described as the effort to make medical decisions based on the strongest scientific evidence available. Evidence can be categorized into hierarchal levels according to the quality of research and the likelihood that […]

Anti-inflammatory pain medications

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 […]