Holden with Arthritis and a Cruciate Tear

It’s about time we introduced everyone to Holden. Don’t let his handsome face and boyish charm fool you, this senior dog was seriously on the struggle bus earlier this year. We received a phone call in the early spring regarding Holden. He was not weight-bearing on the right hind leg due to a cruciate tear and because of his fourteen years, was not a candidate for cruciate ligament surgery. He also did not travel well because he was horribly arthritic and it was uncomfortable for him to be in the car. Basically, Holden was a mess, and his parents were besides themselves trying to figure out what they could do to help him along his journey.

Holden had lost a significant amount of muscle by the time we met him. His strong leg was already weakened and unstable because of how much he had to favor it, and his injured leg had hardly any strength at all. He was only putting the tip of his toes down and that was on every seven or eight steps. Holden didn’t want to sit, lay down, or play. The simplest tasks were becoming hard for him. We explained how chiropractic can often help facilitate healing of the knee and cruciate ligament and stabilize the injury in situations such as Holden’s. Not only would an adjustment regimen help the injured leg improve, but it would also help with his arthritis and the rest of his ailments.

Because of the severity of Holden’s injury, we saw him three weeks in a row and then every other week for an additional month. At the end of those seven weeks this pup was fully weight bearing, walking, running, and sitting without trouble. His lameness was no longer present and his strength had returned. This fourteen year old was acting more like a six year old and you’d never have known that a few months earlier it seemed like he may be on his last leg. Between chiropractic and good parenting, Holden has been able to live a much better quality of life and he’s made 2017 a great year. Hoping 2018 turns out even better as he continues to maintain his strength and excitement!