Canine Hip X-Rays 101 🦴🏥

If you have a dog with arthritis then your dog might have had an x-ray or two. 

Ever wondered why vets need to take x-rays? 🤔 Read on…

Interpreting x-rays requires a highly trained eye. 

The veterinary surgeons at Stem Cell Vet, have many years of experience interpreting bony changes and diagnosing arthritis. We thought you might find it useful to know what we are looking for.

Here’s a quick course in Canine Hip X-Rays…

The normal hip is a ball and socket joint with the femoral head (ball) well-seated and stable within the acetabulum (socket). 

When the femoral head is not completely covered by the acetabulum, the hip is unstable, may become inflamed &  painful, and eventually develop osteoarthritis 🦴

When a vet looks at an x-ray like this, they are looking to see how the femoral head fits inside the acetabulum 🧐

On this hip x-ray  the right hip is marked with an {R} the ball is not sitting far enough into the socket 

On the left hip we can also see changes to the shape of the ball itself. The ball is no longer rounded, but is now flat on the end, this will rub on the acetabulum and cause pain 😣

Regenerative treatments such as stem cell therapy, repair the joint from within – as opposed to just providing a bandage solution like monthly injections for dogs.

If your dog has issues with their joints, we invite you to explore if regenerative medicine can help your dog.

To learn more, please give us a call today on 0345 2200 236.

You can also visit our website at www.stemcellvet.co.uk.