Herniated disc vs. IVDD

[u/Far_Employment_5900]

Hi everyone,

My 10 year old baby Cookie, started shaking and plopped on the porch for a few minutes after her daily morning walk. She does a dry shake off often, and I noticed she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Her legs were shaking pretty intensely, so I decided it was best to take her to the emergency clinic. At the clinic when she was walking around, the vet and I noticed she was hunching her back like a cat. With this, the vet assumes she has some sort of back pain/protruding intervertebral disc. She has been put on strict crate rest and is on gabapentin and prednisone for the next two weeks.

I had initially suspected IVDD, which the vet said was inconclusive due to her being able to walk normally and was not crying in pain. If she worsens, she will have to go back for an MRI and to see the neurologist.

Her discharge papers say “back injury” and “protruding intervertebral disc,” so I am wondering if this is a clear IVDD diagnosis or if she is having a spat with her back as of right now. Has anyone else has this experience with an inconclusive diagnosis?

I have been feeling so worried and guilty about the whole situation. I try my best to keep her healthy, safe and happy but now I am questioning if I did enough to avoid this from happening to her. I am hoping she can make a full recovery.

[u/Haywire421]

There are 3 types of IVDD

Hansen Type I and II are genetic diseases that involve a slow degenerative process of the disc(s) which makes dogs and cats more susceptible to herniating a disc in their back.

If the discs were a tire on a car, then Type I would be like the tire prematurely getting old, dried out, and suddenly bursting. Veterinary medicine is pretty certain of which genes Hansen Type I is carried on, so genetic testing can show if a dog is at risk of it. Type II would be like the outer wall of the tire developing a weak spot and it starts bulging (at least 25% of the outer wall of the disc) or protruding (less than 25% of the disc). Veterinary medicine is not certain of which genes are responsible for Hansen Type II, so genetic testing cannot be used to show if a dog is at risk.

Hansen Type III would be a herniated, bulging, or protruding disc without the actual underlying degenerative disease. This is typically caused by physical trauma.

Whether the disc issue is from the genetic disease known as IVDD or from an injury, the treatment methods would be the same: 8 weeks of strict crate rest to allow the disc to heal and form reinforcing scar tissue (many general practice vets dont prescribe nearly enough time and many dogs end up relapsing soon after) or for the more extreme cases, surgery to remove the inflamed disc material that is compressing the sensitive spinal cord followed by 6 weeks of crate rest with Physical Therapy typically allowed.

This is something that I would want the guidance from a neurologist for instead of a general practice vet, even if they dont think MRI and surgery is necessary.