SPECIFIC Joint Support diets include high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and added ß-1,3/1,6-glucans, glucosamine and/or chondroitin and, in the dog diet CJD, hydrolysed collagen peptides to support cartilage and the body’s natural anti-inflammatory process. Moderate energy density helps regain and maintain optimal body weight.
In a healthy joint, bones will have a regular structure and the ends have a regular and thick layer of cartilage which is important for gentle movement and shock absorption. In healthy joints, there is a balance of cartilage being broken down and being rebuilt in order to maintain a normal healthy joint structure and function.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the rate of cartilage rebuild is slower than the rate of breakdown. This is usually due to old age, disease, genetics, trauma, vigorous exercise or being overweight.
When the cartilage layer between the 2 bones is degraded, the ends of the bones move over each other resulting in pain and inflammation. The structure of the bones may also become irregular causing new bone to form at the joint margin of the bones (osteophytes).
Once cartilage degradation occurs it can lead to a vicious circle causing further inflammation and degradation:
Although the condition is most common in dogs, the condition is also prevalent in cats with it affecting 61% of cats over 6 years old, but it is often less recognisable due to a cat’s ability to mask their pain. Upon seeing visible pain and discomfort, dog owners are more likely to take their dog to the vets than cat owners. For these reasons osteoarthritis is more likely to be diagnosed in dogs.
It is estimated that osteoarthritis affects up to 20% of dogs that are older than 1 year. But as dogs get older, the chance of developing osteoarthritis increases with the condition affecting over 90% aged 5 and over.
It is important to help owners understand that osteoarthritis is a condition that can and should be managed and is not just a natural and inevitable part of ageing.
This can be done by increasing awareness amongst pet owners, especially those with dogs and cats with significant risk factors such as old age, being overweight or being a breed genetically predisposed to osteoarthritis.
Encouraging owners to consider the range of pain indicators can help them realise that this is something they need to address.
Signs of osteoarthritis include:
Referring pet owners to the pain scoring chart should encourage them to look for changes in the animal’s behaviour that may indicate a stiffening of the joints.
Click here to download a pain scoring chart
Medical - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can often help in the reduction of inflammation and have some pain-relieving effects. However, they do not treat the cartilage degradation.
Exercise - Regular, gentle exercise can help to stimulate the condition of all parts of the musculoskeletal system, helping to strengthen muscles, tendons and joint function.
Diet and Nutrition - Special diets and supplements can be used which can help weight management, reduce inflammation and cartilage degradation.
A joint support diet can help to reduce inflammation, support the production of articular cartilage and protect the cartilage from degradation, and help manage weight through reduced energy content. All these components are important for the diet to be effective for the animal.
Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty can be metabolised into eicosanoids - locally active, short-living, hormone-like mediators
Eicosanoids from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) are inflammatory
Eicosanoids from omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and omega-6 fatty acid dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) are not inflammatory.
EPA, DGLA and AA compete for the same enzymatic pathways so a strong presence of EPA and DGLA will reduce the production of inflammatory eicosanoids from AA, thereby inhibiting inflammation.
EPA is ONLY found in marine sources, (fish/krill/algae), whilst DGLA (omega-6) is only found in some special vegetable oils, such as borage oil. Whilst a shorter chain omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from plant sources (flaxseed/soy) can be converted in the body to EPA by enzymes, the process is very limited (less than 5% of ALA will be metabolised into EPA). Preformed EPA omega-3 from marine sources, thus has a much greater anti-inflammatory effect.
Obesity is both a cause and a result of osteoarthritis - obesity increases the breakdown of cartilage, which contributes to the development of osteoarthritis, while the reduced mobility caused by pain contributes to weight gain. Adipose tissue itself produces inflammatory substances which in turn can negatively affect inflammation in the joints.
Diet is essential for weight control and a high quality joint diet should therefore have a reduced energy density. A restricted energy intake reduces the risk of obesity and also the risk of developing osteoarthritis. In an overweight dog with clinical signs of osteoarthritis, losing weight often reduces symptoms.
Dietary supplements such as L-carnitine, which increases fat burning, can help with weight management.
Nutrition can help reduce the degradation of cartilage and support the synthesis of new cartilage.
GAGs (Glycosamine glycans) add
GAGs (Glycosamine\glycans) are a major component of cartilage and are vital in the maintenance of healthy joints. They link with long chains of proteins called proteoglycans.
These are then able to bind with water and make cartilage become an elastic and viscous substance, which is very important for the shock absorbing function of the cartilage.
Omega-3 fatty acids add
In addition to helping reduce inflammation omega-3 fatty acids can also support cartilage by reducing degradation and increasing the synthesis of proteoglycans.
In an in-vitro (isolated environment) study cartilage tissue with arthritis was cultured in a medium without EPA or increasing levels of EPA. Cartilage degradation was measured by the release of GAGs in the medium. It was discovered that higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acid EPA reduced the levels of GAGs released indicating a reduced rate of cartilage degradation.
Anti-oxidants add
Anti-oxidants also play a vital role in supporting cartilage.
During an inflammatory reaction, free radicals (such as nitric oxide) are formed which react with the joint tissue and can cause further damage to cartilage. Anti-oxidants can help to neutralise the cartilage degrading radicals helping to reduce cartilage degradation.
Manganese add
Manganese is an essential cofactor in the synthesis of proteoglycans important for maintaining cartilage. Therefore it is important that dogs and cats diets have sufficient levels of manganese.
This interactive course explores the condition, its causes and how nutrition can be used to effectively manage osteoarthritis helping you to become more confident in discussing osteoarthritis with dog and cat owners.
Register for the Dechra Academy
Already registered for the Dechra Academy? - go directly to the course:
Access the module on managing osteoarthritis
Uniquely high levels of omega-3 from fish and krill - supports the body's natural anti-inflammatory processes and reduces the activity of cartilage-degrading enzymes
Low energy content - low fat and high fibre and added L-carnitine which can increase fat burning
Hydrolysed collagen peptides (only in CJD) - increase cartilage tissue biosynthesis, reduce inflammatory and cartilage degradation mediators in joints
Glucosamine (only in FJD/FJW) and chondroitin - important components of cartilage
High levels of antioxidants - can neutralise increased levels of cartilage-degrading free radicals
Increased amount of manganese - an essential cofactor in the synthesis of cartilage
Can SPECIFIC Joint Support be used in combination with NSAIDs? add
Yes, SPECIFICTM Joint Support can be used in combination with NSAIDs.
Both in humans studies and in studies with dogs with osteoarthritis it has been shown that high intake of fish oil reduces the required dose of NSAIDs to control pain and clinical signs from osteoarthritis.
It should be noted that it will take several weeks before the full benefit of SPECIFICTM Joint Support will be obtained and the required dose of NSAIDs can be settled.
Can SPECIFIC CJD Joint Support also be used for dogs without osteoartritis? add
Yes, SPECIFICTM CJD Joint Support is a complete diet which supplies as all the nutrient requirements of adult dogs. It can therefore also be used as maintenance diet for normal dogs without osteoarthritis (OA), but is especially suited for adult dogs without OA, which have an increased risk on the development of OA. An increased risk on the development of OA can be related to the dog’s breed, history of joint problems (hip dysplasia, luxations, abnormal joint formation, osteochondrosis), trauma caused by injuries and accidents, history of vigorous exercise and overweight. SPECIFICTM CJD Joint Support can support the maintenance of healthy joints and mobility in these dogs at risk.
Is it still necessary to use a GAG (glucosamine / chondroitin)-supplement when using SPECIFIC CJD Joint Support? add
This depends a lot on the composition of the GAG-supplement. It is therefore recommended to compare the amount of GAGs which are supplied by the recommended daily intake of a selected GAG-supplement with the daily intake of GAGs when feeding the dog SPECIFIC CJD Joint Support.
For a frequently used GAG-supplement a high starting dose is recommended, followed by a lower maintenance dose. The intake from GAGs from dogs fed on SPECIFIC CJD is very similar to the maintenance dose of this GAG-supplement, meaning that dogs fed on SPECIFIC CJD do not need additional GAG supplementation to get the maintenance GAG dose.
Furthermore, it should be noted that SPECIFIC CJD Joint Support does not only have GAGs as effective component. The presence of other active components like fish oil, collagen peptides and antioxidants will contribute to the beneficial effect of the diet and may further reduce the need for additional supplements.
Also for evaluation of other joint supplements with other active components (such as omega-3 fatty acids) it is recommended to compare the daily intake through the supplement with the daily intake through the diet.
Joint Diets Data Sheet add
Full product data sheets are available at the SPECIFIC product information book including
SPECIFIC owner website add
The SPECIFIC owner web sites provide a valuable tool to help explain nutrition to your clients. With pages talking about the condition and the role nutrition plays in supporting management of those conditions and details of the individual products that you may be recommending.
If you would like to link to the SPECIFIC owner web sites, the address is www.specific-diets.co.uk/
Support Materials add
A simple leaflet explaining SPECIFIC joint diets for cats that you can e mail to your clients
A simple leaflet explaining SPECIFIC joint diets for dogs that you can e mail to your clients
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