What are the symptoms of atlantoaxial instability?
Neurologic manifestations include clumsiness, lack of coordination, abnormal gait, difficulty walking, easy fatigability, neck pain, limited next mobility, torticollis, sensory deficits, neurogenic bladder, upper motor neuron signs (spasticity, hyperreflexia, clonus, Babinski sign), paraplegia, hemiplegia, and …
How do you test for atlantoaxial instability?
The patient is asked to slowly flex the head performing a slight cervical nod, at the same time the examiner presses posteriorly on the patient’s forehead. A sliding motion of the head in relation to the axis indicates atlantoaxial instability.
What prevents atlantoaxial instability?
Individuals with AAI are restricted from participation in certain activities that may result in cervical spine injury. These include gymnastics, diving, pentathlon, butterfly stroke, diving starts in swimming, high jump, soccer, and certain warmup exercises.
What is atlantoaxial instability dog?
Atlantoaxial instability is an uncommon condition of dogs in which there is abnormal movement in the neck, between the atlas (first cervical vertebra) and axis (second vertebra). This instability allows abnormal bending between the two bones, which causes compression of the spinal cord.
Can cervical instability Be Fixed?
Cervical instability is a medical condition in which loose ligaments in your upper cervical spine may lead to neuronal damage and a large list of adverse symptoms. If you have cervical instability, you may be experiencing migraines, vertigo, or nausea. Fortunately, this condition is treatable, though not curable.
How is atlantoaxial instability treated?
The treatment goals for persons with AAI are to protect the spinal cord, stabilize the spinal column, decompress neural tissue, and reduce any deformity. In most cases, the injury is purely ligamentous and unlikely to heal. Therefore, these injuries are typically treated with posterior C1-2 fusion.
How do you fix atlantoaxial instability?
- Medical Care. There are no pharmacologic interventions for atlantoaxial instability (AAI).
- Surgical Care. The treatment goals for persons with AAI are to protect the spinal cord, stabilize the spinal column, decompress neural tissue, and reduce any deformity.
- Activity.
- Long-Term Monitoring.
What does cervical instability feel like?
Recognize the symptoms of cervical instability Feeling of heaviness in the head. Pain in the upper neck near the base of the skull. Pain referred to the shoulder. Stiff or tight neck.
What are dog wobblers?
Wobbler syndrome is a disease of the neck (the cervical spine) that is seen in large and giant breeds of dog. These dogs experience compression of the spinal cord and the spinal nerve roots, resulting in nervous system deficits and/or neck pain.
How serious is cervical instability?
What does spinal instability feel like?
Symptoms. Displacement and abnormal movement of spinal structures can cause low back pain, stiffness, muscle spasms and a feeling like the back is “giving way” during movement. The pain might worsen when performing activities that place more pressure on the spine, like lifting heavy objects, bending or twisting.
Can a Yorkshire Terrier have atlanto axial subluxation?
Although any dog could develop atlanto-axial subluxation due to trauma, it is most commonly seen in toy breeds of dogs i.e. Yorkshire Terriers or Poodles. Very rarely it can occur in cats. Often in toy breeds of dogs, a congenital abnormality underlies the problem, and so the condition is most often seen in dogs less under the age of one.
What kind of dog is most at risk for atlantoaxial instability?
This condition is seen mainly in small breed dogs, with Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Miniature or Toy Poodles, Pomeranians and Pekingese being the most frequently reported breeds. Dogs with congenital abnormalities usually show clinical signs at less than one year of age. Symptoms can vary in severity.
What causes atlanto-axial subluxation in dogs?
Although an injury can result in damage to the ligaments or the vertebrae, it is more common that dogs are born with an abnormality of the second cervical vertebra (the axis) or of the ligaments, which makes the likelihood of subluxation developing greater, often as a consequence of minimal, (if any,) trauma.
What is the prognosis for atlantoaxial instability?
The prognosis for atlantoaxial instability depends on the degree of spinal cord trauma and neurological deficits already present. Good for dogs with mild clinical signs and guarded for dogs with paralysis, but significant recovery is possible, if decompressed and stabilized.
Although any dog could develop atlanto-axial subluxation due to trauma, it is most commonly seen in toy breeds of dogs i.e. Yorkshire Terriers or Poodles. Very rarely it can occur in cats. Often in toy breeds of dogs, a congenital abnormality underlies the problem, and so the condition is most often seen in dogs less under the age of one.
This condition is seen mainly in small breed dogs, with Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Miniature or Toy Poodles, Pomeranians and Pekingese being the most frequently reported breeds. Dogs with congenital abnormalities usually show clinical signs at less than one year of age. Symptoms can vary in severity.
What kind of dog has atlantoaxial luxation?
Atlantoaxial Luxation | VCA Animal Hospital Atlantoaxial (AA) luxation is a condition in which instability, or excessive movement, is present between the first two vertebrae within the neck. This spinal disorder is most commonly seen in young, small breed dogs, such as Toy Poodles, Miniature Poodles, Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians, and Chihuahuas.
Why does my dog have an abnormal atlantoaxial joint?
These injuries can occur in any breed of dog at any age, if the right forces are applied. In some small-breed dogs, however, hereditary factors may contribute to an abnormal atlantoaxial joint. In many cases, the dens is abnormally shaped, interfering with how the atlas and axis fit together.