Mia, The Bichon With Luxating Patella

This is Mia. Mia is a lovely little bichon that had been struggling with a grade 3 luxating patella. What is a luxating patella? It’s when the kneecap actually slides in and out of the grooves that should be helping to hold it in place. There are different grades of this disorder. A grade 1 had a knee cap that pops in and out on occasion, sometimes is accompanied by a brief limp, but often autocorrects. Mia had a grade 3, where her kneecap constantly was popping in and out, and she was pretty consistently walking on three legs. Her walks were getting shorter and her mom could tell she was pretty sore. Though she always had a big smile on her face, her mom knew something needed to be done. The options for this disorder are limited. You can either let it be and hope it continues to right itself, do surgery that may or may not fix the problem, or you can look into alternative options that include proper supplementation for joint health and chiropractic. Since you are reading about Mia you can probably guess what they decided to try first! Mia has been getting adjusted for just about 2 1/2 months now and her mom reports that she is doing fantastic. Not only is her limp practically eliminated, she is going on longer walks and doesn’t have any soreness. Her energy levels have increased and the muscles around her knee have strengthened to the point where they can actually stabilize the joint. We are so happy Mia was able to improve with chiropractic care!