Semitendinosus - Page 1

Does anyone have any knowledge on cure/care for "Semitendinosus"? My 5 yr old German Shepherd was just diagnosed with it and I was told no cure out there.  He is a working dog and has been competing for the last 3 yrs.  I would like to still compete with him, but don't want to harm him if training continues.

Are you talking about semitendinosus contracture?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keIXhMcmsU0

Our dog Hero has a gracilis contracture......he walks much like the video. He doesn't seem to be in pain from it. 

He's had it for a couple of years and though the range is restricted, he is happy to run and play as usual. We do limit him as when he tires it seems to affect his gait a bit more.

We tried prolotharapy with limited sucess.

We neutered him as its not known if there's a genitic link to the condition.

Dave,  [assuming Sita'smum has referred to what you are referring to]
I have a ten years old male with the same problem in his left hind leg.  
'Ruins' his gait from a Show structure point of view, but I don't show him
in any case (overshot bite, too tall ).   However, he has a happy life, does
not show any discomfort from it;   is ball-mad, and runs and runs and
runs playing Fetch,  it didn't get in the way when we used to do Tracking
either.  He can romp with other dogs too without problems.  He's had the
condition since he was about 2.  I have always understood there was no
cure, either - just pain/inflamation relief if it became problematic.

Added:  I have always heard of it as just "gracillis contracture", never with
the added term  "semitendonosis"

Kim :  Can you explain a little re "prolotherapy" pls ?

Thank you for your replies.  This is the term the specialist put on his report. I then went and saw a physical therpist.  Same answer, no cure. Med's for pain. Stretching twice a day. Suggested different types of med's.  He does protection work with no problem. His drive is so high for that.  His drive for obedience isn't has high and that is when the problem occurs. I have to talk to my regular vet about med's becasue they can have side effects.  I am going to try and limit his med's to training days also.
Thanks again.

"gracillis" "semitendonosis" are 2 different large muscles.

prolotherapy is injecting something to desolve muscle and casue regeneration. its used in humans and animals with limited sucess. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-practice-news-columns/complementary-medicine/changing-views-on-ccl-repair.aspx

Thanks very much for info and the link.
Re the genetic implications, if Hero is
on the dbase I'll compare his and Taz's
pedigrees when I get time.  If you want
to do so first, Taz is on here now (Devat
Adunamoir).  Very Uran.


Dave - thanks for the response.  Good
luck with him, hope he stays pain-free.

Linda.

Dave, deep tisue massage seems to work, but you need to find someone that really knows their stuff and can teach you what to do. Stretching could cause more scaring of the muscle.....make sure to do it correctly.

The issue is that the body is creating scar tissue instead of healthy muscle......it ends up being hard.

Prolotharapy - stuff in injected into the muscle to desolve the scaring and promote healthy muscle tissue growth. It can work, but you'll have to find a specialist and be very careful with pt......and depending on the ammount of muscle already affected you'll have to go back many times.... its a very long term treatment.

I wish I didn't know so much about this........kinda sucks....

Looks like there is inflammation of the tendon, you need to give the dog a rest for a few months until it heals completely, with some pain meds atleast initially. If it becomes chronic, you will no longer be able to do sport with the dog, so perhaps a break of 3-6 months is suggested to be on the safe side.

guddu, that is exactly what our vet told us to do, but it compounded the problem. Hero was rested, and for quite some time, but soon after he was off crate rest he reinjured. in the end the whole muscle became hard. its about the diameter and stiffness of a pencil.

with proplotharapy, after the injections, the dog is to be walked on leash in as straight a path as possible and with no stairs. after a few weeks of this he is to be walked and a slight bit of trotting is added. as the dog recovers and creates new muscle, more trotting is added so by the end of 3 months it can be approx 80% recoveded, with full recovery after 6 to 9 months.

i drove about 16 hours each way to get this procedure done and unfortunately my husband is too optimistic and let Hero off leash after only 3 weeks of recovery and he relapsed. felt it wasn't worth doing it again........being the husband won't follow doctor's order.

in some breeds of dogs, contractures seem to run in bloodlines, therefore it can be assumed that there is a genetic component.

My 2 and half year old Tutu has just been diagnosed with this condition. The specialist said they have some treatment called "stem cell therapy". They will take some fat cells from the belly and extract stem cells then inject those stem cells to the affected muscle. This therapy seems to give them very good results in preventing scar tissue to form when the tear is still in acute stage which will prevent the limitation of movement to occur. It will cost about $5000. Unfortunately Tutu is already in chronic stage which this doesn't bother her at all. Nothing promising has shown in this stem cell therapy when scar tissue has already formed. Just want to let everybody know if you see signs of semitendinosus/gracilis tear, go to a specialist ASAP, they might be able to help.
Our specialist is concerned that since Tutu is still young, she might get the same condition for her other leg. That is also my concern. So how are your little ones doing? Do they have only one leg having the condition or both?
Boy, I have to limit her favorite ball chasing. Such a pain for her.