Muscle Contractures in the Limbs of Dogs and Cats

Muscle contractures causing varying degrees of lameness commonly occur from skeletal muscle fibrosis, the result of injury such as that caused by circulatory insufficiency, infection, autoimmune reaction, or trauma. Quadriceps contracture, whether congenital or acquired, is treated by sectioning the cordlike fibrotic muscle group by "Z" plasty, resulting in lengthening it enough to allow the knee to assume a normal standing angle. Adhesion of the muscle group to a large femoral callus (muscle tie down) may occur and require additional surgical correction. Infraspinatus contracture results in a typical foreleg deformity and change in gait. Surgical repair by tenotomy is usually followed by rapid return to normal. Gracilis contracture, though common in racing greyhounds, is not commonly reported in pet dogs. Surgical excision of the entire affected muscle mass is curative.