It’s one of the most common causes of pain in our dogs, yet often goes undetected until it’s too late. Now, scientists at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) have uncovered new early warning signs of canine osteoarthritis, raising hopes that the condition could be diagnosed – and treated – far sooner.
Groundbreaking research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has identified new markers for the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis in dogs, using high-resolution three-dimensional bone mapping.
This advanced form of evaluation, not previously performed even in humans, has generated important new insights into the disease. The findings improve understanding of the earliest changes within the osteoarthritic joint, offering a potential pathway to much earlier detection in both dogs and humans.
Osteoarthritis is an extremely common condition, affecting approximately one in seven people worldwide and one in five dogs. It is a major cause of chronic pain and disability, with more than 600 million individuals globally and around 10 million people in the UK currently living with the disease. These figures are predicted to double by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
While osteoarthritis can affect any breed, research from the RVC’s VetCompass programme has shown that certain dogs, including Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers and German Shepherds, are particularly susceptible. Current treatments in both humans and dogs largely focus on pain management or joint replacement surgery. However, early diagnosis remains challenging, despite being widely recognised as key to slowing or potentially reversing disease progression.
In this latest study, the RVC team used ultra-high-resolution micro-computed tomography (CT) to map the entire femoral head, the ball of the hip joint, in three dimensions. They analysed osteoarthritic tissue from dogs undergoing total hip replacement surgery at the RVC’s Queen Mother Hospital for Animals.
Previous human studies have focused on small, localised samples. By contrast, this whole-bone 3D analysis revealed that different regions of the femoral head respond simultaneously but differently to the disease.
Crucially, the researchers found that in the earliest stages of osteoarthritis, the inner regions of the bone show predictable structural changes, enabling early identification of the condition. As the disease progresses, the dense bone layer beneath the joint surface becomes increasingly porous, correlating with severity and helping to distinguish between mild and advanced disease.
The research marks a significant step towards earlier detection of osteoarthritis in dogs.
It has also been published in the leading human journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, highlighting the value of a One Health approach to disease research.
Looking ahead, the next phase will focus on linking these findings with clinical imaging to develop improved, non-invasive methods of assessing joint health at much earlier stages. The study builds on the RVC’s established expertise in orthopaedic surgery and musculoskeletal research, reinforcing its position as a leader in both companion animal care and translational medicine.
Professor Richard Meeson, Professor of Orthopaedics at the RVC and senior author of the paper, said:
“Osteoarthritis is a devastating disease affecting both people and our pets. Every day in our orthopaedic referral clinic, I see dogs suffering from its severe effects. What is truly exciting is that through our clinical work, we can transform the lives of dogs through hip replacement surgery, and we have also been able to drive forward pioneering research at the RVC. This research has provided new insights into the disease and, crucially, brings us closer to diagnosing osteoarthritis at a much earlier stage.”
Dr Gareth Jones, former PhD student at the RVC and lead author of the paper, added:
“Uniquely, our pet dogs share our environment and lifestyles and often develop the same diseases. It is therefore pleasing to see greater acceptance of the opportunity to learn from veterinary diseases to also understand human diseases, through our One Health approach, with this work on dogs being published in such an esteemed human research journal.”
The RVC is currently recruiting for a three-year funded PhD studentship based in London, which will investigate how bone marrow lesions (BMLs) and subchondral bone cysts (SBCs) may hold the key to early detection of osteoarthritis. The project is funded by Petplan, with applications open until 19 April 2026.
The full paper can be found at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1063458426006783
