Dog Pelvis Fracture

Probably the greatest number of broken bones are caused by automobile accidents and, in our experience, of these, pelvic fractures lead all others in frequency.

It is not difficult to tell when the pelvis is fractured. Usually the dog will not be able to stand, or if it does, the hind legs spread apart and it either collapses in pain or waddles with difficulty. The tail may hang inert.

When the veterinarian dons a glove and inserts an index finger into the rectum, he or sire may feel the break or breaks clearly. By this method it can be ascertained whether a bone edge has cut through the rectum or the vet can push a collapsed pelvis back into place by digital pressure and thereby relieve the dog considerably. He or she may feel break in the spine where the first tail vertebra joins the last sacral one, which accounts for the "dead" tail. If the dog can wag its tail, it is good evidence that the backbone is not brokers. Of course, X rays are necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

A fractured pelvis may involve any of the six bones that make it up (three pairs of bones) and sometimes, the spinal column is involved. The bones of the pelvis are the cilium, schism, and pubis. Look at the illustration of a dog's skeleton. Now imagine it is covered with flesh and skin and is your dog. Imagine you can see that skeleton through the flesh and skin. The bones of the pelvic girdle are these six (13 to 15) plus the sacrum, that section of the spinal column consisting of five or six vertebrae ending where the tail vertebrae start. When the pelvis is fractured, any of the six pelvic bones maybe broken, or the injury may be to the backbone, to the joints where the sacrum and the cilium join, one on each side, to make the sacroiliac joint, or to the muscles and ligaments that hold this whole box together.

If a fracture takes place, it is generally more than one fracture. In the pelvis bone one fracture does not occur rather at least there must be two fractures. In case there is only one fracture then it is generally accompanied by a dislocation of the sacroiliac joint occurs.

The damage of the bones named the ilium and the acetabulum may lead to injury of the nerve. The fracture mainly occurs when the weight gets transferred from the hind limb to the bones like acetabulum, ilium and sacroiliac joint and ultimately putting a pressure on the spine. In case of a fracture in the acetabulum you must take your dog to a vet clinic for proper treatment as soon as possible. If left ignored the bone injury may lead to the occurrence of arthritis. You may not have to bother to provide your dog with proper treatment in case it develops fractures in the ischium.

Frequent incidence of pelvic fractures may also lead to the development of trauma in the chest along with bruised legs, limbs, rupture of the lungs, fractures in the ribs, torn diaphragm, bleeding of the chest, abdomen, due to the presence of trauma in the liver and the spleen. Abdominal hernia and ruptured bladder are some of the side effects of the development of the dog pelvis fracture.