Where Do I Put The Ice?

I have read the homework and this is a dumb question, but I do not know where to put the ice on an ACL tear.

I would like to have an evalution to see what I can do to make my guy better. He has started limping more and I want to start using the ice. He does not seem to be in any pain at all and I do not have him on any meds except a chinese herb which is not helping. I will be setting up my work schedule tomorrow for the upcoming weeks. Is it possible for you to evalute my boy?

Not a dumb question at all…for now, you may just place a pack directly on his knee, on the side, while he is lying down. Leave on the pack for 20 minutes, no towels or other barriers, especially if he has fur…that is enough of a barrier.

Yes, we may set up an appt. I have some openings next week, and I will write you mail this weekend to set up a time and day. Thanks-

Oh, and if he is limping, he is likely in pain.

It is common for most people, even people with medical training, to think for a variety of reasons I won’t take time to discuss here that the animal is not in pain, however the best demonstration that he is in a little pain, at the least, is usually limping.

I suggest you speak to the vet about getting an anti-inflammatory or another pain reliever, like Tramadol (used a lot here in Austin, TX), if you are open to that idea, and if you are not, we will talk about some other options when I see him for evaluation. There are usually not any combinations of even several non-pharmaceutical helps that will do away with the type of pain that is enough to make the patient limp. This means you usually need pharmaceutical drugs to help your pet feel better, feel less pain.

Also, if you do give a pain reliever for a day or two and the limping stops, that is another good clue that the limping has been due to pain. For more information on pain, please see my pain posts by searching the word pain in the search box.

I also highly recommend fish oil capsules…they are anti-inflammatory, for one, and good for many things. Look for a capsule with 1000 mg of oil or less and definite amounts of EPA and DHA, noted separately on the label. A good place to start is about 20 mg of EPA daily for every kg of body weight.

Deb