What is Intervertebral Disc Disease?
An intervertebral disc is essentially a cushion in between the bones of the spine. These discs, under the influence of certain forces, can become swollen or even rupture over time, ultimately causing damage to the spinal cord. The rupture can be either progressive, in which case it is more likely to be detected in time for treatment, or immediate, which may cause some added complications. This disease is most prevalent in chondrodystrophoid breeds (breeds with dwarfism in the genes) of dogs, such as the Dachshund, Pekinese, Beagle, and Lhasa Apso breeds.
Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) is the rupture of discs that serve as cushions between the vertebrae of the spine. It is common in breeds with dwarfism. Possible symptoms include pain, loss of limb function and loss of feeling. Treatment options include medications and two types of surgery. Depending on the damage to the spine, there is a risk of the dog being paralyzed, though dogs with minimal damage have a good prognosis.Symptoms of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
Because this disease causes intervertebral disc rupture that damages the spinal cord, varying degrees of pain occur. Some possible symptoms your dog may display include:
- Pain in the back or neck, typically causing refusal to walk or look around
- Loss of hind limb function
- Loss of ability to urinate
- Loss of experiencing pain (in severe cases)
- Hesitant to go up or down stairs
- Neck muscles are tense, may spasm
- Reluctance to jump
- Tense abdomen
- Restlessness
- Vocalization of pain
Types
Intervertebral disc disease can be categorized by the location of the spinal cord where the damage occurs. This grouping classification is called neurolocalization, and assists in diagnosis and treatment.
- Location-based types - Large regions of the spine are used to classify disc ruptures. These are broken down into the cervical vertebral 1-5, cervical vertebrae 6 through thoracic vertebrae 2, thoracic vertebrae 3 through lumbar vertebrae 3, and lumbar vertebrae 4 through the sacrum.
Causes of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
Intervertebral disc disease can be caused by one of two types of damage to the spinal cord: compression and concussion.
- Compression is usually the result of gradual degeneration, causing the central gel of the disc to lose its fluid and become more susceptible to general wear and tear. When this occurs, normal life may cause the central portion of the disc to rupture into or through the outer layer, putting pressure on the nerves and spinal cord. This is often referred to as a slipped disc.
- Concussion, alternatively, is when the disc is ruptured in one immediate motion, sometimes resulting in paralysis. This is not typically caused by any one event, rather a combination of everyday activity and deterioration of the disc.
Diagnosis of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
The method of diagnosis will depend largely on your dog’s symptoms and breed. If your dog is predisposed to intervertebral disc disease, such as chondrodystrophoid breeds, there is a high chance that intervertebral disc disease is the problem. Depending on symptoms, some tests may be completed to rule out other spinal problems. Possible diagnostic tests include:
- Physical exam
- Neurologic exam
- Complete blood work
- Serum chemistry
- Urinanalysis
- X-rays
- Myelogram (spinal x-ray using a dye to highlight compression) and anesthesia
- MRI
- CT Scan
- Spinal tap
Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
The course of treatment that the doctor ends up suggesting will depend directly on the severity of the damage directly to the spinal cord. If this is the first occurrence and the spinal cord has minimal damage, conservative treatment such as cage rest, confinement, and pain medications may be an option. For any greater damage, the following alternative treatment options exist:
- Depending on the severity of damage, medications may be used. Some common medications include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroid drugs.
- If the case is that the damage is unquestionably severe, and medication driven treatment is ineffective, surgery may be necessary. Neurosurgery is an option, and should be done by an outside expert in the field. Expect to have another round of x-rays as part of the preparation for surgery. There are two types of operational surgery that may be done: fenestration and decompressive surgery. Which surgery is best for your pet will be determined by the diagnostic tests and x-ray results.
Recovery of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
Recovery and management depends largely on the course of treatment. After surgery, Most pets are discharged within 3-7 days. Possible post-surgery restrictions include bladder expression 3-4 times a day, rehabilitation and bed rest for at least four weeks. Complications may include seizures, infection of the incision, continued trouble walking, additional herniated discs later in life. Depending on the severity and complexity of the spinal damage, the biggest risk is the loss of the ability to walk. For most cases where damage isn’t excessively severe, though, the dog’s chance of walking again is high.
Cost of Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs
The cost will rise or fall based on which tests the doctor is forced to complete in order to successfully diagnose the reason of your dogs symptoms. The total cost for diagnostic tests, which should include a physical exam, neurological exam, urinalysis, blood work, x-rays, serum chemistry, myelogram, MRI, CT Scan and a spinal tap may cost around upwards of $4,800 Treatment may include medications, or surgery, coming in around $9,000 total. Your actual cost will vary depending on diagnosis and treatment courses, as well as pharmacy, veterinarian, and specialty specifications and requirements. The total estimated cost can reach upwards of $15,500, with additional monthly costs ranging from $150 to $300 for medication.
Intervertebral Disc Disease Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
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I have a 6 year old, 6lb yorkie-poo that has recently sustained an injury in what we thought was his back. He would shake and scream in pain. We took him to his Vet and he started him on a strong round of prednisone and pain medicine. It seemed to help some, but eventually seemed to quit working. We couldn't put him down, so we were referred to a Veterinary University. They done an MRI on him and he had 2 ruptured disc, around his neck. We decided to move further on and they done surgery to remove the disc and he was on his way to recovery, but a week later started screaming in pain again. It breaks our hearts so bad. We know he can't go on living like this and hes to the point now of not wanting to eat, dink, or use the potty from the pain. Putting him down isn't an option for us, but we don't know what else to do for our little guy. I just want him to be better and back to himself! We took him back to the University and they have hooked him up to a cath and seem to have his pain under control. They suggest another MRI to see if hes blew another disc, but he has been kept confined since hes been home from surgery. Is there anything we can do for our boy!?
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My dog hachi was fine until he started screaming in pain and hiding while arching his back. He also lifted one of his front paws. The vet said it could be a pinched nerve or herniated disk and prescribed a pain killer and 3 weeks bed rest. Even with rest he’s in a lot of pain and the screaming just hurts my heart. What can I do to help him? Nothing happened that I think could have triggered this and I don’t know what to do? Should I take him to another vet?
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My 3 year old beagle was completely fine until about 1 week ago. Out of nowhere she started yelping in pain when getting up. She walks with no problem, no issues eating and seems completely fine other than getting up or down. I have taken her to the vet and her diagnosis is IVDD. She is currently on an anti-inflammatory and pain medication to help her. I was wondering if this disease is treatable and she can live a long, healthy life or if this is something that will affect her from now on.
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Intervenal dis disease within the TL spine dis herniation causing the signs would be suspect but aditional imagin such as a myblogran ct. my dog already had de xray and this the resul and vet conclusion are this the TL spine aligned there is significant disc space narrowing identified at the level of T12-13 no endplate lysis is seen. At this time he is feeling his legs. My question us he will be walk just with recovery as a vet said
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I am wondering what we should do about our husky, she has the symptoms of IVDD but the vet we took her to says that he thinks it could menegitis or possibly even our dog having seizures. She has been put on a medication called previcox for 4 days now but is still screaming in pain, should we try the medicine a bit longer or take her somewhere else?
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Many causes may cause the symptoms you’re describing but most usually occur in older dogs which is probably why your Veterinarian suspected meningitis or other neurological disease. Other conditions like intervertebral disease bone spurs and other conditions can be easily diagnosed or ruled out with a simple x-ray (possibly with myelography). If you have concerns, speak with your Veterinarian to have an x-ray performed to give you peace of mind. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
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11 yr old Cairn Terrier. 4 days ago, started falling going up steps. 3 days ago noticed that his front left leg was sliding out from under him as he moved and he was favouring it. 2 days ago it started affecting all legs. He would stand up and fall down. He walks gingerly and any leg might slide out and away at any time. No change in personality or eating habits. No circling behaviour or tenderness to touch anywhere on body. Took him to vet and blood work came back normal. They put him on pain meds as they also noticed reaction to being touched in shoulders. Physical exam was fine and said we could move to x rays and MRI if we wanted. Any thoughts?
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My daughter's mini doxie is now paralyzed from what we think is IVDD. reading this information and talking to the vet, there is no guarantee the surgery will work, the only other option we were given was to "put her down" I am at a total loss because we cannot afford the surgery but my daughter will be distraught. Any recommendations of alternate options?
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Unfortunately one of the most common problems in dachshunds are spinal issues whether is it intervertebral disk disease or subluxation. Surgery to stabilise the spine is the treatment of choice, but may be cost prohibitive; however, electroacupuncture has been demonstrated as giving improvements in movement and pain response. I have included two links below that make interesting reading. P.s. I also added a link to find a certified Veterinary Acupuncture Practitioner (all people on the list are licensed Veterinarians) and for reference Dachshunds are a chondrodystrophic breed (second link). Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20513202
www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11290&meta=Generic&id=4252647&print=1
www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx
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Last week- till today she has been limping and we took her to the vet last week. They gave her a shot and meds to help with swelling it helped for about a week but she started to walk slowly 2 days ago again and today we took her this morning and the vet said something about disc in her back? And surgery may be an option. Right now she seems to be dragging on her back and seems like she’s losing the feeling in them. Is surgery still an option even though her back legs are like that? Her front legs are working just fine and I believe she is experiencing pain , she doesn’t yell but she groans & I read that not experiencing pain is in severe cases.
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Our little Jerry had body and head tilt soon after he gets up, holding up forelimb and yelping when getting picked up. Took him to various vet and put him through an MRI and found below diagnosis.
1. C3-4 :
a. Mild left ventrolateral spinal cord compression by a protruding intervertebral disc, which partly extends into the left intervertebral foramen
b. Dorsal spinal cord compression by a bulging ligamentum flavum.
2. C6-7: degenerative intervertebral disc disease with collapse of the disc space, but no significant spinal cord compression.
3. Dehydration of multiple other intervertebral discs.
4. Incidental findings:
a. Small supracollicular fluid accumulation
b. Mild ventricular enlargement and asymmetry with right larger than left.
The vet has suggested to go through CSF analysis to rule out meningitis before his spinal surgery. All of a sudden before we make decision, Jerry was back to normal without treatment and almost symptom free (but still hold up forelims). We could not explain why.
After he's back to normal for 2 weeks, we found him started eating his own poo and threw up one day. Put him on quarterly worming medication immediately and 1 day later after meal, he threw up again. Should we be concerned about if the vomiting is related to his disc rupture, or something else? Now how should we treat him for disc rupture now as we concern it may come back one day? Many thanks!
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A year ago my dog was injured from a fall; neighbor said he fell on his back several times trying to jump the fence. He had some weakness in his rear legs, not too bad at first but then gradually worsened. We have tried several different medications; Prednisone seemed to help the most for a while but is no longer working. For the last three months he has been getting acupuncture weekly with laser therapy a few times showing no improvements, if anything he has only gotten progressively worse. He does have use of his rear legs but they are extremely weak and really has no control over them. When he walks his paws knuckle over and he falls a lot and his body goes sideways, he has even started to just drag his legs behind him at times. He did have a CT scan on the entire spine and the findings were:
•Possible extruded non-mineralized disc material at L7-S1,
punctate areas of very faint mineralization is also seen in
this region
•Mild dorsal wedging of the lumbosacral disc space
•Spondylosis at several sites in spine, most severe at L6-7 and
L7-S1
•Equivocal evidence of a small amount of non-mineralized
extruded disc material at L6-7
•Cervical spine and all of the intervertebral disc spaces in
this region appear normal
•Incidental finding of very faint ossifying pachymeningitis
•The vertebral bodies and end plates are normal
Conclusion: Suspect extruded non-mineralized disc material at L7-S1. There is also possible extruded non-mineralized disc material at L6-L7.
I am considering surgery at this point, I would like to do some research but I am not clear on what his actual condition is (is it IVDD?) and what type of surgery he needs. I have been told that a myelogram or an MRI will need to be done for the surgery, is one more beneficial than the other?
Would a neurologist have to perform the surgery or could a board certified surgeon perform the surgery in this case? Either way, I will have to travel to have the surgery done as there is no one local, do you have any advice on the best way to select a surgeon? I appreciate your time.
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My 5 year old dog - chiweenie had back pain suddlenly last year. the vet injeted his steroids and prescribed prednisone and gabapentin(she said it could be a disc hernia) he got better and was great for 4 months until the same thing happened again. he got another injection and meds and recover fully but 6 months later (July2018) he showed same symptoms and this time we took him for an full spine MRI. his diagnostics is a "large mieline to left sided chronic disc herniation at L3-L4". The neurologist sugested surgery impling that the hernia can rupture at anytime. my dog has been resting a lot and shows pain only during the morning and the rest of the day he behaves 100% healthy and walks around fine. some days he keeps his head down as he walks and ramdonly he will cry/scream. He is still taking prednisone and gabapentin.he seems much better but i am afraid the disc will rupture and also i am afraid of the risc of the surgery and the possibility of adhesions developing, losing his movement. i want to make sure he will be fine if he gets surgery. i am taking him to another neurologist for a second opinion . but i need more advice
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Panda is a 9 year old Bassador. Last week she was moving, running, and acting normal. A few days ago, she began having what we thought were issues with her back knees. She was placed on a few pain meds and was slow, but showed brief signs of her old self. This week, she went to the vet for a follow up. Coming out of the car, he hindquarters stopped working. She still has movement and feeling in her back legs. After an xray, the vet mentioned that it could be IVDD. After researching the symptoms, we are fairly convinced this is what it is. She has been placed on a steroid and been told to have restricted movement. We are torn whether or not to gracefully let her go or to continue to fight. How long into the treatment do most dogs respond? We want to remain very optomistic but also want to be respectful of her quality of life. Thank you.
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I took Loki my chihuahua for a routine teeth cleaning and to get get her nails cut, she had no issues at alll perfectly healthy. When I picked her up from the vet I noticed that she was limping, she also had a little bit of blood on her paw, I thought she might be limping because she got cut while getting her nails cut or something. A few days went by and she was still limping, she wasn’t using her left back leg at all, only when going outside to pee. I took her back to the vet and they told me she had a patella luxation? I had no idea what that was or what might have caused it. They gave me pain meds for Loki and sent her home. It’s been almost a month now, I took her in for X-rays and they stated that she now has degenerative intervertebral disc disease. Is this something that would cause my dog not to use her leg. I am very confused about this situation and I don’t know if I need to take her to a different vet for a second opinion. Please advise. Thank you
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I’m so sorry to hear about Milo. I hope he was able to heal the 2nd time around. We are actually experiencing the exact same thing right now with our pup, and I’m really curious to hear what happened with Milo if you don’t mind sharing. We are unsure what to do about our pup at this time.