lameness exam small animal Flashcards
Why is a history a good part of the lameness exam
you want to know if this patient takes any medications, diabetic dogs will display a drop in the calcaneal tendon
(trauma) want to know if this pet was exercising and then fell or if they just woke up lame (progression)
signalment-breed, age, sex: ex: german shepherds have lower hocks
answers may lead to other questions
lameness diagnosis consist of a few important things, what are they
history
neuro exam
ortho exam
general physical exam
never use what word to describe a leg is lame
“favoring”
tips for an orthopedics exam
-consistent in your exam, so that you don’t miss something
-want to examine the affected leg last, unless the animal does not allow it
-muzzle! if questionable
-look at symmetry, stans
tips for palpating
do the lame leg last
do both standing and recumbent
check symmetry, look for muscle atrophy, bone abnormality,
what is the visual inspection analyzing
stans, symmetry
confirmation-there are breed differences
watch them sit and stand
gait analysis
watch them walk, trot, pace etc
you can challenge them by walking them in a circle, going up or down stairs
look for ataxia- may indicate lameness
watch them walk towards and away, and from the side
what does down on sound mean
dogs head goes down when they are putting weight on the normal leg
this is analyzing thoracic limbs
hip hike
hip goes up when the affected leg is attempting weight bearing
what can you observe regarding stride speed and length
lame leg- short and slow
normal- faster stride
joint effusion is best felt when
standing
spinal palpation of the neck, back, and tail
neck- should flex lateral, dorsal and ventral (flexion, extension and lateral)
back- apply pressure on the spinal processes
tail- lift the tail, and hip lumbar extension
recumbent examination
start distal and work up proximal
separate movement to one joint
(hard to separate the elbow and shoulder)
what are the 6 parameters of an orthopedics exam
1.pain
2.swelling
3.effusion
4. crepitus
5.instability
6.ROM
digit palpation
palpate all the long bones, flex each joint
may find broken nails responsible for the lameness, dermatitis, cuts, FB etc
palpating the carpus
check for effusion cranially
instability- medial and lateral collateral ligaments
palpation of the ulna, and radius
check for pain, palpate long bones for abnormality
when palpating the shoulder dont forget about
the scapula!
stifle palpation
effusion
medial buttress
effusion felt lateral to patellar tendon
medial buttress- thickening of medial joint capsule
what is the cranial drawer test
landmarks
this is testing cranial cruciate ligament- this could be partial or complete tear
the tibia should move cranially- if it does this means there’s a CCL tear
-cranial translation of tibia relative to the femur
patella, fabella, tibia tuberosity and fibular head
what is the cranial tibial thrust
this is also testing CCL- its an indirect cranial drawer test
what are the landmarks to look for hip luxation?
wing of the ilium, ischial tuberosity and greater trochanter
for cranial dorsal hip luxation, the landmarks for a ___
line
wing of the ilium
greater trochanter
ischial tuberosity
what is the ortolani test for?
its to test for hip dysplasia, a negative test is not conclusive
adduct the femur dorsally, then abducted
+ ortolani test will subluxate when the femur is abducted dorsallu
, reduction is felt or heard
