The Use of Omega-3 Concentrate to Relieve Coxofemoral Osteoarthritic Pain in Dogs

Abstract

The current study aimed to assess the effect of using omega-3 concentrate to relieve coxofemoral osteoarthritic pain in dogs. In total, ten dogs with coxofemoral OA were orthopedically evaluated at the coxofemoral joints in order to grade the pain severity. Pain scores were assessed from lameness at walk and trot (1-6), pain on manipulation (1-3), and range of motion (1-4). All dogs orally received omega-3 concentrate (Omacor®, Banner Pharmacaps Europe BV, the Netherlands) for successively four weeks. During the study, they were evaluated for pain scores on a weekly basis. The results revealed that mean body weight of the patients were 27.2±17.3 kg (range 2.8-50.0 kg). As for lameness at walk and trot, pain scores obviously declined within one week of treatment (3.3±0.9 vs 2.0±0.7, p<0.001) and went to 1.7±0.8 at the end of the study. According to joint manipulation, pain scores continuously diminished through the 3rd week (2.5±0.5 vs 1.7±0.7 vs 1.3±0.5, p<0.001) and went to 1.2±0.4 at the end of the study. For range of motion, pain scores decreased progressively during 3 weeks (3.0±0.5 vs 2.3±0.5 vs 1.9±0.3, p<0.001) and went to 1.6±0.5 at the end of the study. In summary, omega-3 concentrate was one of the nouveau alternatives to alleviate painfulness at the coxofemoral joints as obviously seen from continuously declined pain scores, contributing to the better quality of life for the dogs afflicted with coxofemoral OA.