In our rehab practice, most of our patients are coming to us after bone surgery or damage in order to heal with faster and stronger results. Did you know that any lay up time, for any reason, will affect bones? Bones were designed to bear the weight of the body and when that does not occur for prolonged periods, the bones react to the inactivity in chemical and architectural ways. Nerve injury can result in a dramatic loss of bone density in the affected limb. A dog that is ill for any reason and significantly less active than normal will also experience bone loss.

Inactivity or immobilization of bones results in decreased mass, density, and stiffness. Longer periods of immobilization result in larger losses. Because younger animals have growing bones, the losses are greater for them, and may even leave a permanent reduction of bone mass if therapy is not begun in time. That is why it is so important to get youngsters into proper dog rehabilitation as soon as possible after fractures or surgeries. Because the young bones are metabolically active though, the strength and mass returns faster than it would in a mature dog. On the other side of the scale, older dogs may have already suffered age-related loss of bone, so they will lose strength faster. Although it is normal for geriatric animals (of any species) to suffer bone loss, it is important to note that it can be reversed by appropriate exercise and conditioning.

The time it takes a patient to return a bone to normal (pre-injury) strength is approximately twice the time it has been immobilized, or guarded and used less. For example, a dog with an ACL tear may have been limping and not using his leg for 3 months before the surgical repair, so the expectation is that it will take 6 months to build up the bone strength that he should have. Once rehab has progressed to the point that athletic training can begin (trotting and running), the bones will obtain a more rapid and complete recovery. Specific exercises have proven helpful to encourage normal bone repair and improved strength.