# My girl's ankle/hock is swollen



## christx (Nov 13, 2010)

This injury occured on nov 4th - running and swimming in our local swim hole...after running to retrieve her ball she turned back to me and started limping-I thought just a burr in the paw; that night the ankle/hock joint swelled up - just like a big swollen mass on the back of that joint - the ankle above or below was not swollen. She saw the vet the next day...

She was put into a splint for a week and it was taken off yesterday...she had a few sore spots where the splint had been rubbing so a few days out of the splint will let them heal. Minimal activity.

I'm worried though. She still won't use it. In this pic I have attached you can see how much larger one ankle is. If you hold that swollen part on the ankle/hock joint while she is standing and while her leg is semi extended you can feel it sort of pop as it goes back and forth (left to right) over the ankle bone.

We will be going in for xrays on Monday if nothing really changes tomorrow.

Any similar experiences out there?

:crossfing

thanks, -C


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm thinking torn ligament...  

What did the vet say the first time you took her in?

ETA -

I went on Web MD (yes, I know), but -



> Tendons can be stretched, partly torn, or ruptured. Strained tendons follow sudden wrenching or twisting injuries. The tendons of the forepaws (front and back) are strained most often. The signs of tendon injury are lameness, pain on bearing weight, and painful swelling over the course of the tendon.
> 
> Rupture of the Achilles tendon at the hock joint can be caused by sudden and extreme flexion of the hock. This injury tends to occur in Greyhounds and sporting and performance breeds. The Achilles tendon is the one most often severed in dog fights and car accidents. Rupture of the Achilles tendon causes a dropped hock.
> 
> Treatment: This is the same as described for sprains. A ruptured Achilles tendon should be surgically repaired. Surgery will be followed by a long course of rest and rehabilitation.


I really hope it's not that. And I hope it isn't a break. I'm queasy rereading what you said about it popping. I really hope this is a ligament injury that needs time to heal. Definitely, get her in for the xrays.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

That does look very swollen. I think it would be worth taking Xrays on Monday. Please keep us posted with the vets diagnosis.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Hopefully one of our vets will chime in. That looks very swollen. Is she taking any meds?


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## christx (Nov 13, 2010)

the first time I took her in, nov 5th, they said sprain-lets splint it and very little activity for that week--wanted to see us again in one week...thats when the splint came off

Delta is on:
Tramadol 100mg twice a day - this stuff must be awful as she foams at the mouth if she accidentally chews it
Previcox227mg, half tab evey 24 hours
and now simplicef 200mg once a day as a safeguard against infection because of her sores

Will keep you posted. I can't even imagine her attitude if this turns into a really long recovery...fetching that tennis balls was sooo very important to her daily life.

thanks all


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I'd definitely x-ray. If it doesn't look like much on the x-ray, get a referral from your vet for an orthopedic specialist. Putting tendons back together isn't something that "regular" vets do very often.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Not likely an achilles injury. As a veterinarian, I would vote for sprain or possibly OCD, I would definitely recommend a radiograph. OCD can be difficult to diagnose in that area.


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## christx (Nov 13, 2010)

the xray looked good - you could see that the tendon was not pulled from the bone. The tendon WAS/IS the inflamed part though...

an ultrasound of the tendon itself showed some "tears" in the tendon (basically just darker, fluid filled spots on the screen)

On the advice of my vet - I ordered her a hock splint from orthovet dot com. She is currently wearing the original splint wrapped in "no chew" tape. The doc says she will need to wear the splint for about 6 weeks. Splint + previcox for now.

thanks again, -C


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## christx (Nov 13, 2010)

something new...look at these pics...

this area was shaved for the ultrasound *two* days ago -- the sore area in the pic was non-existent, it was just all shaved around her swollen hock -- at that time the hock area was still VERY swollen. It was then wrapped in layers of soft cotton gauze before the full vet-splint went on, then no-chew tape over the splint. There is NO way this was a result of splint-to-bone friction; there was too much cotton gauze wrapped on before the splint...

I took the vet-splint off last night (to put on the orthovet model) and the swelling is now GREATLY reduced but now she has this indented-sore -- very dark in the middle...there was clearly some dried fluid of sorts on the inner gauze...

Its almost like this swollen part of her ankle burst like a blister...any ideas?


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## ChazP (Apr 24, 2014)

Hi Christx, 
I saw your post from 2010 of your girl with the hock sore. My dog has the EXACT same thing going on right now - very SORE, swelling and weeping sore on the back/top and we (the specialist and I) are a bit baffled to what is going on! Rads came back clean but with ligature swelling too. I came across your post while frantically searching, it's the only thing that came close to what is going on with my guy. I know it's from 2010 but I was wondering what ultimately your girl was suffering from and what successful treatment(s) you ended up going with?
I really appreciate your time on this and I so hope your little dog is healed up!

Thanks! 
Chaz and Davie Boy


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

The above poster has not been on the forum in years, so I don't think she will answer you.

I am so sorry about your girl's problems. Have the vets ruled out an abscess - possibly from a puncture wound?


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