ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PELVIC MUSCLE MASS AND CANINE HIP-DYSPLASIA

Objective--To investigate the relationship between pelvic muscle mass and development and expression of canine hip dysplasia (CHD). Design-- Prospective study. Animals--5 Greyhounds with anatomically normal hip joints, 59 German Shepherd Dogs (23 with CHD, 24 with near-normal hip joints, and 12 with normal hip joints), and 18 German Shepherd Dog-Gre yhound crossbreeds (7 with CHD, 6 with near-normal hip joints, and 5 w ith normal hip joints) between 12 and 47 months old in which pelvic mu scle mass was evaluated. Pectineal muscle and hip joint development we re evaluated in 25 German Shepherd Dogs al 8 and 16 or 24 weeks of age . Procedures--For evaluation of pelvic muscle mass, individual pelvic muscles were weighed and hip joints were assigned a score on the basis of severity of degenerative changes. For evaluation of pectineal musc le development, muscle sections were stained and examined. Results--Pe lvic muscle mass was greatest in Greyhounds, intermediate in crossbred dogs, and smallest in German Shepherd Dogs. Differences in pelvic mus cle mass among breeds were attributable to differences in weights of i ndividual muscles. Hip score was negatively correlated with pelvic mus cle mass and weights of selected pelvic muscles. Dogs with pectineal h ypotrophy at 8 weeks of age had type-2 muscle fiber paucity or muscle fiber-type grouping al 16 or 24 weeks of age. At 8 weeks of age, hip j oints were composed of multiple centers of ossification, and the aceta bulum was largely cartilaginous. By 24 weeks of age, the pelvic bones were largely, although incompletely, fused. Clinical Implications--Dim inished pelvic muscle mass in dogs with CHD and altered muscle fiber s ize and composition in 8-week-old dogs that subsequently develop CHD s trongly suggest that abnormalities of pelvic musculature are associate d with development of CHD. The complex development of the hip joint fr om multiple centers of ossification may make the joint susceptible to abnormal modeling forces that would result from abnormalities in pelvi c muscle mass.