What are the symptoms of LS disease?
Most of the problems we see in dogs affected by lumbo-sacral disease are due to compression of the nerves in this region by one of the disease processes listed above. When nerves are compressed, they become inflamed, painful and may not conduct electrical impulses properly. The nerves in this area supply the back legs, the tail, anus and genitals. Dogs with lumbo-sacral spinal disease therefore often have a long-term history of one or more of the following problems: • lower back pain • hind limb pain (much like sciatica in humans) • hind limb lameness • hind limb weakness • hind limb incoordination • urinary or faecal incontinence • weakness of, or reluctance to wag their tail The precise nature of these problems depends on which nerves are compressed, and the severity and duration of compression. Occasionally we also see younger dogs (often Border Collies) with subtle signs such as poor performance during agility training.
