​Doggieherbs

Sprains
Dogs spend most of their days standing on their toes, with their ankles raised and their knees often bent. This positioning can put a lot of stress on their joints and muscles. Chasing after things, leaping in the air, and running about can take its toll. It’s actually very common for them to overdo things now and then. Whether it is their wrists, toes, elbows, hips, knees, ankles or shoulders; strains and sprains are very commonplace.
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If your dog incurs a strain, this can injure vital tendons in their body. The tendons are a vital part of their body which links the bones and muscles together. If your dog stretches too much, too frequently or further than is normal, this can result in a strain. Strains in the thighs and hips are very commonplace, and can also occur after a fall, a jump, or a slip. 

Sprains can also affect the ligaments which join the bones together, and this can lead to joint damage. Another injury that is also quite serious is called Cranial Cruciate Ligament or CCL; this can be torn and caused a dog immense pain.

​How to Tell if your Dog has a Strain or Sprain?
One of the most noticeable signs that a dog has a sprain or strain is if your dog is limping, they can’t use their leg as normal or if they appear to be lame all of a sudden. If this persists for more than a day, or if it keeps on coming back, then a trip to the vet would be in order. A strain in a dog can come in differing strengths; it can be a mild sprain or a severe sprain, they can also be an ongoing sprain or an acute sprain.

​How to Heal a Sprain in Your Dog
The healing process for sprains in dogs typically involves giving your dog some kind of anti-inflammatory drug, to begin with. Some pet owners are fine with this, but understandably, some do not agree with giving their pets drugs of any kind. Herbs for dogs is an alternative, by offering a healing solution that provides faster healing and recovery for sprains, but is safe for your pet and all natural. Turmeric and corydalis are great herbs to start with that are anti-inflammatory and help with pain. Additionally herbs like Du Zhong / Eucommia Bark & Xu Duan / Teasel Root are excellent herbs to help with the tendon injury itself.

Alongside this, you want to follow these three simple steps.

• Apply a heating pad or an ice pack
• Make sure your dog gets plenty of rest
• Take your dog out for a walk on their lead, slowly to begin with

​Muscle Tears
A muscle tear can be a very painful experience for your dog. When the normal functioning of the muscles is strained or interrupted, this can result in adverse contraction. Generally, it is the weakest part of the tendon that gets torn. It is essentially the action of overstretching that causes a muscle tear in a dog.

Another classification of muscle tears in dogs, otherwise known as acute muscle tears can occur after high-impact agility movements, chasing over-enthusiastically after a ball or other object or even playing with other dogs. A common but rarely diagnosed injury is a tear of the iliopsoas muscle.
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Although there is an elevated risk of muscle tears in dogs that are classified as working or sporting dogs, there is a whole host of reasons that can cause a dog to get a muscle tear.
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• Improper warm up before exercising
• An orthopedic issue
• A neurological condition
• Post-Surgery (after CCL is common)
• Recurring training with little variation in activities or movements
• Trauma

​How to Spot a Muscle Tear in Your Dog
The actual signs of muscle tears in dogs aren’t always easy for pet owners to detect. There are also differing levels muscle tears that your dog can get. However, if your dog appears to be lame, has muscle fatigue (meaning they are extremely tired, more so than normal after very little exercise), they have a pain in their leg, in their lower back, or perhaps they appear to be avoiding putting their weight on one particular side, these can all be tell-tale signs that your dog might have a muscle tear and could be in severe pain. As mentioned above, a muscle tear comes in a range of differing severities.
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Veterinarians will often group these into Stage 1 (mild), Stage 2 (moderate), or Stage 3 (Severe).  

​How to Heal a Muscle Tear in Your Dog
The severity of the tear will ultimately determine what the exact treatment needs to be. As is often the case, skeletal relaxants for muscle which prescribed by your Vet, alongside massage therapy, acupuncture or cryotherapy. Various conditioning exercises or range of motion workouts could also be recommended, and in some cases, Laser treatment is a viable option.

It is dependent upon the type of muscle tear as to which precise course of action will be taken; for example, if your dog has a chronic muscle tear, anti-inflammatory drugs would not generally be recommended because this can impact upon the normal inflammatory process that comes with the healing process.
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If your dog doesn’t respond to normal treatment, then surgery could be one course of action that is reviewed. Similarly, if your dog has recurring muscle tear problems, surgery might also be an option.