Greyhound racing has developed over the last twenty years from a backyard industry into a highly professional sport.  Consequently greyhound medicine and surgery is now highly specialised. With these changes owners now expect greater performances from their animals and a quicker return to form following an injury.  As a result, the veterinary profession has developed new techniques and processes that meet these needs. .

Disorders in the racing animal can be metabolic disorders or injuries. Injuries can be soft tissue injuries, bone injuries, or a combination of bothHowever the most common theme in all sporting animal problems (including humans) is fitness.

Many difficulties can be overcome and indeed prevented if the animal is fit. Unfortunately we humans have a long way to go in adequately preparing a sporting animal to the fitness required for a strenuous racing career!

Soft Tissue Injuries

Muscle Injuries
The most common injury to the racing greyhound, horse or human is a muscle “tear”.  To understand these processes it is important to understand how muscles are constructed.  There are two types of muscle “voluntary” and “involuntary”. “Involuntary” muscles are the muscles that provide functions such as breathing and heart beat. “Voluntary” muscles are those that provide the locomotion of the body.

In animal sports medicine, we are concerned with the “voluntary” muscle system. These are the muscles that are used for movement and exercise.

Each muscle consists of thousands of individual specialised cells. These cells combine to make up the muscle tissue or fibre.  Surrounding this tissue is a thin membrane or muscle sheath.

In normal circumstances the muscle will stay intact with individual cells being broken down and rebuilt under the normal metabolic process.

For sporting animals as they gain fitness, the muscle bulk and strength increases more than the breakdown process, so that muscles become stronger and larger.

However, sometimes during a hand-slip, trial or race, the forces imposed on an individual muscle may be more than that muscle can cope with. In these cases a number of things can happen.

The first thing that can happen is for fibres to pull apart resulting in some bleeding, swelling and resultant bruising. This is known as a stage one injury.

Secondly the fibres can actually tear apart and this is known as a stage two injury.

The next development is when the fibres tear apart and so does the surrounding sheath.
This is a stage three injury.

The most severe, or stage four injury, is when the body of the muscle rips apart.

Each of these phases can be treated in an appropriate manner. If there are no tears then the tissue can be treated with massage, or with any of the electronic treatments such as ultrasonic therapy, electromagnetic treatment etc.

If there is a tear then either time and rest or surgical repair is indicated.

Tendon injuries
The muscles are attached to the bones by tendons.  When muscles contract they pull the tendons which in turn move the bones in a particular direction.  If forces during racing or trialling are too great for the tendon it can tear or rupture.

Tears can sometimes be cured with rest and therapy while ruptures require surgery.

Joint and Bone Problems

Racing animals including race horses, humans and greyhounds are subject to great forces when racing which if not managed effectively can result in trauma.  It is important to note that racing animals are subject to far more trauma than an ordinary pet animal.  When racing, the bones and joints of a greyhound have enormous pressure put on very small areas.

For instance, when cornering the entire weight of the body can rest on one foot, which can be bent at right angles to the ground. If the (eg metacarpel) bones are not strong enough to carry this force then fractures can occur.

Similarly if the joint surfaces are not prepared enough then joint damage can happen.

It is therefore vital that when pups are reared they are fed an appropriate diet which contains the essential nutrients for bone growth and development, so that the skeleton is prepared for the trauma that will be inflicted upon it during the animal’s racing career.

Joints are where bones meet.  Between the bones are layers of cartilage which, together with joint fluid, cushion the forces that occur when the animal is doing any exercise.

Constant pressure on these surfaces means constant were and tear.  It is essentail that the appropriate nutrients are available to ensure that the joint remains healthy.

It is useful therefore to feed racing greyhounds products that contain glucosamine and chondroitin.  These chemicals are vital for healthy joints.  One of the best sources of these chemicals is shark cartilage.  This product is available in many forms from veterinarians and pet shops.

Metabolic Disorders

Kidney Problems
Greyhounds are trained to run hard and don’t have the necessary ability to stop when the body needs a rest.  If the animal is called upon to do more than it is prepared for (ie the animal is “unfit”), then muscle breakdown will occur.

This can result in a high level of muscle protein in the blood stream.  The kidneys normally filter this protein and other chemicals out but if there is an excess then kidney problems can occur and the animal may suffer from what used to be known as “metabolic acidosis”.

Special payment arrangements for Greyhound owners/trainers.