CCL Tears + Chiropractic Care

I’ve had quite a few CCL injuries walk into my office lately so figured I’d make a post about how chiropractic can be a part of your pup’s care team when dealing with the injury! 👉 While it’s important to remember that I’m not a veterinarian so I can’t diagnose or treat CCL injuries, chiropractic can be a vital role in your pup’s recovery no matter whether you choose to proceed with surgery or to go with conservative management.

This post is going to be a lengthy one, so buckle up! CCL stands for “cranial cruciate ligament” which is the human equivalent of an ACL. Dogs can sprain, partially tear, or fully rupture their CCL. Your veterinarian can diagnose a CCL injury and it’s severity by doing a physical exam with palpation of the knee, observing their gait, and performing radiographs.

Many factors decide what treatment recommendation your vet may make- the severity of the tear, what they find on radiographs, your dogs age, activity level, other co-morbidities, the owner being able to afford surgery, etc. I see dogs all across the board… dogs pre-surgery, dogs post TPLO surgery, dogs who aren’t a candidate for surgery, or dogs who’s owners just opt for conservative management and the cool thing is, they all benefit from chiropractic care!

First, unless it’s a tear that was traumatic in nature, most dogs have a significant imbalance built by joint restriction and compensation patterns long before the actual injury happens. I do a lot of measuring of front end and hind end muscle groups in my office, which looks for muscle atrophy. There are dogs with “no symptoms” that I’ve seen have a 2 inch difference in muscle tone from side to side! 😳 Think about that, if one side of your body is working twice as hard as the other, eventually the side that’s doing all of the work is bound to get hurt, right? That’s why I’m such a big proponent of wellness care for dogs, especially breeds prone to CCL injuries!

But what about if your dog already has a CCL injury? How can chiropractic help? 👉 It’s estimated that about half of dogs who tear one CCL will tear the other one in a few years. Why is that? Because the leg that went from being the “good” leg long before the tear is now the bad leg, which means the leg that was actually the bad leg to start has to become the good leg, even though it can’t handle it… and boom, we now have tear number 2. Did you stay with me there? 😂

It’s all about compensation patterns! Which means that no matter whether you decide on conservative care or surgery, chiropractic can play a vital role in your pet’s long term rehab in hopes of protecting the other CCL.

CCL injuries are frustrating, time consuming, and expensive, but having the right team around you can definitely make all of the difference! ❤️