What is luxating patella in dogs

Have you noticed your dog walking strangely as if it feels uncomfortable? Maybe your pet is hopping around awkwardly and stretching its legs frequently? These are possible signs of canine luxating patella.

The condition sounds like a mouthful. So what exactly is it? In this blog, you’ll learn about the causes, signs, and treatment.

What is Luxating Patella in Dogs?

Canine luxating patella happens when your dog’s patella (or kneecap) shifts out its proper placement. The kneecap rests on your dog’s femur bone, but canine luxating patella causes the kneecap to slip out of alignment. As a result, your dog could experience lameness. 

Lameness could cause your dog to skip or hop on one leg to try to reposition and align its popped kneecap. You may notice your dog yelp out in pain when its kneecap dislocates, and hear a faint “clicking” sound as the kneecap moves in and out of the groove. 

What Causes Luxating Patella in Dogs?

Luxating patella in dogs is a congenital or developmental disorder, which means that it’s inborn. However, traumatic injuries such as tearing and overstretching your dog’s joints may also make your dog more prone to developing the condition. 

On a similar note, your dog’s kneecaps could pop out of place because of its body structure. For instance, if the soft tissues that support his kneecaps are too tight or loose, it could cause the kneecap to slip out of place more easily.

Another factor that could contribute to the condition is the groove in your dog’s femur or thigh bone. If it isn’t curved deeply enough, it’ll be harder for the kneecap to fit and stay in place properly. 

Some dog breeds tend to be more prone to developing the condition, such as: 

• Boston terrier
• Chihuahua
• Miniature poodle
• Pomeranian
• Yorkshire terrier
• French bulldog
• Shih-Tzu
• Pug

How to Tell If Your Dog Has Luxating Patella

It’s easy to detect luxating patella early on in your dog’s life, but some symptoms tend to develop later on. Here are some signs you can watch out:

• Changes in walking: You may notice your pet may seem to walk uncomfortably or with an unusual posture.
• Hopping & skipping: You may find your pooch moving around strangely by pausing in between to hop and skip. Your dog may move around like this to slip it’s kneecap back into place. 
• Leg stiffness: Kneecaps help ensure that your dog walks properly. If your canine’s kneecaps shift out of place, its movement will seem somewhat stiff in its affected legs.

How Do You Diagnose Luxating Patella?

If you suspect your dog has luxating patella, take them to the vet ASAP. After all, early detection will help your dog recover more quickly. It can also help prevent other problems such as lameness and arthritis.

Your vet will conduct a physical exam which will involve observing the way your canine walks. The vet will also check for your pet’s kneecap stability and look for signs of pain.

Diagnostic imaging is another test your vet may conduct to help confirm and assess the condition. The process makes it easier for your vet to see whether your dog’s kneecaps are misaligned.

Once your vet has obtained enough info, they’ll assess the severity of the condition, which could be one of four types:

• Grade 1 – Your canine’s kneecap is generally in the proper position.But if it happens to pop out, it’ll be easy to realign the patella to its proper place.
• Grade 2 – Kneecaps tend to remain in the proper position but pop out more easily. Manual replacement can help realign the popped kneecap.
• Grade 3 – The patella is generally out of position but can be manually placed back. It could still slip right out of place later on, however.
• Grade 4 – Your dog’s kneecap is always out of position. Manually putting the patella back into proper placement is almost impossible at this stage.

How Do You Treat Luxating Patella?

Your dog may be diagnosed with luxating patella, but there are many things you can do to keep your pet happy and healthy. We’ve listed some of the treatment options below. 

Physical Therapy

Dogs with a Grade 1 or 2 luxating patella can be treated with proper physical therapy and exercise. Physical therapy can help your dog train and strengthen its leg muscles to prevent the kneecaps from slipping out of place.

Weight Management

You may also help your dog maintain a healthy weight. This helps reduce the stress that the extra pounds put on the knees. 

Pain Relief

Your vet can also prescribe anti-inflammatory and pain relief medication to ease your dog’s pain symptoms and discomfort. 

Surgery

Dogs with a Grade 3 or 4 luxating patella usually need to undergo surgery to help prevent lameness and severe pain. Since the cost for surgeries and other medical treatments can get steep, it helps to get a dog insurance plan.

During the procedure, your vet will realign the kneecap and make sure it stays intact. Your vet could deepen the groove of the femur, move the joint, or add support to your dog’s knee.

After the surgery, your dog will need to rest and observe the proper post-care practices. As the owner, you’ll need to be responsible for restricting vigorous movement, maintaining the proper diet, and getting enough light exercise. That way, your canine will recover faster and get back on track to a better quality of life.

To learn more about how you can help take care of your dog and treat other conditions or injuries, explore the TLPOInfo blog.

The patella, commonly referred to as the knee cap is usually located in the centre of the knee joint. A luxating patella is a knee cap that moves out of its normal location, as indicated by the term "luxating" which means out of place or dislocated.

What causes the patella to luxate?

The patella slides in a groove on the lower end of the femur (the bone that runs between the hip and the knee). There is a ligament called the "patella ligament" which runs from the bottom of the patella to the tibia, (the bone just below the knee joint). This ligament keeps the patella in place. The thigh muscles are attached to the top of the patella. When the thigh muscles contract, the force is passed through the patella and through the patella ligament, which results in straightening of the knee joint. The patella can luxate because the point where the patella ligament attaches to the tibia can sometimes be attached too far inward. As the thigh muscles contract, the force pulls the patella against the inner groove that it is sitting in.

After several months, the inner side of the groove wears down and the patella is free to move out of the groove or luxate. This can be quite painful when this happens and the dog may have difficulty putting weight on the leg. After a while, some dogs learn to kick the leg and push the patella back in place. However, because the groove is gone, the patella can easily move out of place again. Some dogs can tolerate this problem for a while, but the joint may become arthritic and painful.

Can a luxating patella be fixed?

A surgery called, "Medial Luxating Patella Repair", can be performed. There are three steps to the surgery:

1. The point where the patella ligament is attached is moved and surgically fixed to its proper location.
2. The groove where the patella sits is deepened so the patella will stay in place.
3. The capsule around the knee joint is tightened.

It is important to have this surgery performed before arthritis occurs in the joint. If there is no arthritis, the dog should regain full use of its leg. If there is arthritis in the joint already, the joint can still be painful, especially in the cold weather.

Are there breeds that are predisposed to this condition?

The University of Sydney's "Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals" (LIDA) names the following breeds as being predisposed to this condition:-

• Affenpinscher
• American cocker spaniel
• Australian silky terrier
• Basset hound
• Bichon frise
• Border terrier
• Boston terrier
• Cavalier King Charles spaniel
• Chihuahua
  

• Dandie Dinmont terrier
• English springer spaniel
• Griffon Bruxellois
• King Charles spaniel
• Lhasa Apso
• Maltese
• Papillon
• Pomeranian
• Poodle (Miniature)
• Poodle (Toy)
• Pug
• Shar Pei
• Yorkshire terrier

How do you know if your pet has a luxating patella?

This condition is usually noticed in dogs less than two years of age. Signs range from mild to severe, and include temporary or occasional lameness possibly accompanied by a 'hopping' motion. Eventually the dog may hold the leg permanently off the ground. If both legs are affected, the dog may adopt a crouched gait and posture, appear bow legged and may even walk on the forelegs with the hind legs completely off the ground.