You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Sprains are common in pets but what are they ?

A sprain is injury to a ligament. Ligaments join bone to bone, whereas tendons join muscles to bone. Ligament injuries (or sprains) occur when there is trauma to a joint - such as a twist, slipping, sliding, falling, or stumbling.

A sprain can be relatively minor with tearing of a few ligament fibres, or severe with complete rupture of the ligament. Because ligaments are soft tissue fine details of their damage can not be seen on XRays, and so the clinician has to rely on examination of the joint to make a diagnosis. Torn ligaments result in the following signs :

• Swelling of the tissues around the ligament
• Pain when the area is touched or the joint is stressed in the region of the ligament
• Instability of the joint when the ligament has totally ruptured. Displacement of bones may be seen on XRays when the joint is flexed or extended.
• Lameness - mild to severe depending upon the degree of injury to the ligament

The form of treatment needed for a sprain will depend upon the severity of the injury. Surgical repair is needed if the ligament has totally ruptured, whereas mild injuries may only need rest and bandage support.

SPRAINS are NOT STRAINS - CLICK HERE to find out why !

Updated October 2013