In new research funded by the American Kennel Club, or AKC, Canine Health Foundation, University of Florida Veterinary Medicine associate professor Dr. Diego Portela and his team succeeded in developing two techniques to target sensory nerves in canine joints to ease pain in dogs with osteoarthritis diagnoses.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects dogs, causing inflammation and pain in the joints. Twenty percent of dogs over one year old, 40% of those under four and a staggering 80% of dogs over eight years old show signs of the disease. Effective treatments for canines are limited.
Osteoarthritis occurs when joint cartilage, the cushioning tissue on bones that allows smooth, pain-free movement, begins to deteriorate, leading to pain, inflammation, stiffness and, eventually, difficulty using the affected limbs.
In human medicine, local anesthetic injections – or nerve blocks – are sometimes used to manage chronic joint pain, but the option had not been explored for dogs until Portela, a veterinary anesthesiologist, set out to explore whether a safe, effective technique could be developed to target the sensory nerves in canine joints, specifically the knee and elbow, without impacting the motor function of the leg.
“The problem is that, if you inject a big nerve, it can paralyze that part of the body for months,” Portela explained to the AKC. “To avoid that, you need to develop a technique that blocks only the sensory nerves.”
After numerous trials and adjustments, Portela and his team succeeded in developing two innovative techniques. His method for targeting nerves in the knee proved especially promising, showing a high success rate and minimal risk. The elbow block was more challenging due to the elbow’s complex anatomy; however, results were still positive with takeaways for fine-tuning.
“The technique is very easy to perform and easy to reproduce,” Portela added. “With minimal training, this is something that many veterinarians can do.”
While the nerve block techniques are still being researched and refined thanks to the AKC’s support, early returns are promising for safer, more targeted care that has the potential to improve the quality of life for dogs living with osteoarthritis.