What is the anterior cruciate ligament (cruciate for short) and what does it do?
There are two cruciate ligaments in each knee (in dogs as in humans), the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments. They are tough fibrous bands that keep the knee joint stable, strong and moving properly. The one that most commonly breaks or stretches is the anterior cruciate ligament. How did my dog damage a cruciate ligament and why does it cause limping? The damage most likely occurred by jumping and landing badly. It is a common injury in the knees of footballers for this reason. Occasionally, the injury can occur by overextension of the knee, for example by the hind leg stepping down into a hole while the dog is running. Either way it causes partial or complete tearing or sometimes just stretching of the cruciate ligament. This causes the joint surfaces inside the knee to rub against each other instead of rolling along each other. The rubbing causes pain when putting weight on the injured leg. Are there certain things which make some dogs more likely to have this kind of injury?
