ultra sound ?

[foley79]

i have a 3yr racing greyhound , just over 4wks ago he tore his right tensor facia lata . the vet said it wasnt tore right through and said it was a 50/50 chance of recovery . i have followed as instructed with aiding recovery i.e swimming , walking , magnetic feild therapy.I have a 1mhz ultrasound device and wish to start using it . what methods and course of use is reccomennded for such an injury ? i would be most grateful to any suggestions as i am always very eager to learn ways to improve my dogs health and welfare

[chihuahuagrandma]

I agree w/the above comments....very sensitive injury and however difficult today,,,,you have to also considered when age comes up on the dog, how will this injury affect the little fella later in life....very important...
Much luck to you and yours....welcome to the forum....great people here.

[Jaybay]

I imagine his racing days are definitely over, so get that sofa ready.  :-)

Have you spoken to a vet hospital that offers therapy about the appropriate use for your US machine?  I'm in Houston (wondering if you are too since we have a race track here) and Gulf Coast Veterinary Associates (GCVA) in the Galleria is the absolute best for any kind of issue.  They're referral only, so you'd have to get a written referral and records transferred from your regular vet to consult with them.  They're very expensive, but worth every bit of it and I know they offer all kinds of physical therapy including swimming facilities there.  If nothing else, your regular vet could maybe call their PT department for guidance on the ultrasound treatment.

Also, you could post to Dr. Cheng on the Ask a Vet forum here at Med Help.  She practices both traditional western and holistic veterinary medicine, so she might have some additional ideas for treatment.  That sounds like great news that you can full stretch that leg out already.  Keep up the good work!

[foley79]

he is a racing greyhound and done it in a race , i can fully stretch his leg out now and there doesnt seem 2b any pain but its immpossible to tell until he is eventually let off the lead and gets into his stride. If hes not going to be able to race again theres a place waiting for him on my sofa !!!! i would like to start using my ultrasound device but im not 100% on how 2 use it correctly in respect to how long and how often to administer. thanks

[Jaybay]

You're doing everything that can be done, particularly the swimming therapy.  That's great!  Don't be surprised if surgery is ultimately necessary after all that work though.  We tried the same thing when our dog ruptured her ACL.  Turned out that it was completely ruptured - not even a few threads to hold it together.  I honestly wish we had just gone for the surgery right away.  Because of the delay, her arthritis was way worse than it would have been.

The only other thing I can think of that would help is some kind of anti-inflammatory medication like rimadyl or deramaxx.  Anything to keep the pain and inflammation of those tissues to the absolute minimum will help.  How did the injury happen?