# Please give me some feed back-Infrasphinatus muscle injury!



## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

I'm at wits end with worry for Sparky. He got his injury on 14 Jan. 2010 and I'm just not sure if I'm doing the right thing.  No contracture to date which I think is a good thing and he moves around the house and yard with absolutely no limp now and really wants to romp and play. So far, I've stopped about 95% of it. He has experienced moderate muscle mass loss during the first 2 weeks but hasn't lost more or gained any back.
The day after the injury (I observed him coming to me on 3 legs), took him to the vet and put him on strict inactivity and anti inflammatories right away. Well since then we have been spending a lot of $ on re hab , measurements, water tread mill, laser treatment and well, I'm just not sure, is it way too early to judge? I keep on hearing from the vet and the re-hab people to give him "a chance" to avoid surgery, since there is no contracture to date we have a reasonable chance w/o surgery????
I'm worried!!!!!!  Am I just avoiding the truth or inevitable?? 
Does anyone else out there have experience with what they have labeled the "weekend warrior" injury"? Don't like this tittle since I certainly wouldn't classify him as a weekend warrior because we stay active all year long and his injury was a instant trama and not over use. Any who, any constructive comments? :? 
****, sure need to be taking him out for at least some fishing trips. W/o him I'm a complete wreck and can only think of his loving company.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

From what you're calling it now, as a muscle tear, and knowing the background of the conditions it happened under, I wouldn't feel too bad about the title of a "weekend warrior" injury. It was a cold, icy day when it happened. Under those conditions, with his muscles tight from the cold, it would be easy for a dog to hyper-extend a joint and tear muscle. I would call it an accident, and keep working with what the vet tells you to rehab the injury. Muscle strains and tears can take a long time to heal, even for the fittest of the fit humans. Don't forget, Sparky is made up of the same structures and proteins that we humans are. It's been just under 2 months since it happened, and I would think it could take 3-4 to full recover depending on the severity. I'm not an expert, but I have torn muscles in the past, and it took a while to get back. Just keep your chin up, keep following the vet's plan, and he'll get back. Just a matter of time.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Thanks Bud. That helps a bit.!!!!


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## Theekillerbee (Jan 8, 2009)

Fred, I sure wish I knew more about how the Infra works in dogs. In humans it is our main external rotator, but dogs don't really have or need the capability to externally rotate their front legs. In humans the Supra is the main work horse of the shoulder. Just assuming the infra is the main muscle in a dogs shoulder, a muscle belly injury is a bad thing, but likely not what happened. It is likely a tendon injury, which if not severe can heal with the right treatment. I think you are doing the right thing with the therapy, as he is a younger dog and has a higher capacity to heal this up. By a contracture I assumed your vet is actually meaning retraction of the tendon from it's insertion on the humerus. If a tendon tears completely off, it will retract until it is useless and the muscle belly changes into fat cells, which in turn can never change back. So if your vet/PT peeps think he is getting better, give him some time. In a human that has a tendon repair, it takes 6 weeks for decent tendon to bone healing, and 8-12 months for complete (pathalogic normal) healing to take place. Hang in there, and I'm sure the Sparkinator will be fine.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Theekillerbee,

Infraspinatus Contracture:
Infraspinatus contracture is a uni- or bilateral fibrotic myopathy of the infraspinatus muscle that is usually secondary to trauma in hunting or working dogs. Clinical signs include an acute lameness, pain, and swelling in the shoulder region. The lameness subsides, but a gait abnormality develops 2-4 wk after injury as muscle fibrosis and contracture progress. Clinical signs include a characteristic adduction of the elbow, abduction of the foreleg, and external rotation of the carpus and paw. The limb is circumducted with each stride of the leg. Palpation of the shoulders reveals outward rotation of the humerus as the elbow is flexed. Treatment consists of resection of the fibrous musculotendinous portion of the muscle, including tenotomy of the tendon of insertion. Limb and joint functions are immediately improved, and prognosis for full recovery is excellent.
As I understand it this particular shoulder muscle just withers(scar tissue, etc,??) and dies resulting in lameness and stiff legged "wind milling" that can only be fixed by cutting the tendon and relying on the remaining muscles to take over the function. This is my layman's understanding.


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## Theekillerbee (Jan 8, 2009)

Thanks for the info on on Infra contracture. See you can teach an old dog new tricks! Sounds like they cut out the bad portion where the tendon meets the muscle, and then repair the area that was cut out. Sure hope he doesn't need the surgery! Keep us posted on how he is doing.


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