Photo of golden retriever walking with pet parent representative of good muscle health.

Muscle Health in Pets

Companion|July 2022

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There is more than one approach to helping prevent osteoarthritis in pets.

It has been estimated that in North America and the United Kingdom, about 1 in 5 dogs over the age of 1 year of age has some degree of osteoarthritis, said Neerav D. Padliya, Ph.D., vice president, Research Alliances, MYOS Pet. “When considering dogs over 5 years of age, the prevalence of osteoarthritis is 9 out of 10 dogs,” he said. “Canines suffering from OA are affected by movement in their legs, hips and back. Aging canines with moderate to advanced arthritis can experience severe pain, and begin to move less and less, resulting in muscle disuse atrophy. Over time, these senior dogs experience significant muscle loss and loss of mobility,  severely impacting their quality of life.”

While pet parents are very receptive to treatment options for OA, they aren’t always aware that muscle health must also be addressed, Dr. Padliya said. “Pet parents and vets generally focus on pain medication and joint supplements but rarely address muscle health, which is a key to making a difference in their pet’s mobility and quality of life.” Since MYOS announced a clinical trial conducted at Kansas State University demonstrated that Fortetropin supplementation results in reduced severity of canine osteoarthritis, the company has received more inquiries for muscle health products, said Dr. Padliya.


“The clinical trial reported that dogs that were supplemented with Fortetropin experienced statistically significant decreases in LOAD (Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs) scores after 6 weeks,” he said. “Dogs that were supplemented with a macronutrient-matched placebo did not experience a statistically significant decrease in LOAD score during that timeframe.”

Dr. Padliya provided the following questions distributors can ask their veterinary clinics related to muscle health in pets:

  • Distributor representatives should ask their client veterinary clinics if clients that have been supplementing their dogs with Fortetropin have noticed changes in physical activity and playfulness in their dogs.
  • “How do you approach preventative treatments early on with your pet parents when it comes to canine muscle health and overall well-being? The MYOS all-natural products address three categories: Geriatric, aging dogs; Injured dogs – pre, post-surgery (and some with no surgery at all); Your athletic agility and working dogs (to aid in recovery, improve stamina and strength).”
  • “Are you doing anything to address muscle health or muscle wasting in your patients due to aging or OA? Have you considered a multi-modal approach to OA which also includes treating/addressing muscle health?”
  • “What products are you using with patients who have OA and muscle loss due to age, injury, illness, or injury? How about treating with one all-natural product?”