Intra-articular morphine, bupivacaine or no treatment for postoperative analgesia following unilateral elbow joint arthroscopy

Objectives To compare intra‐articular morphine or bupivacaine against no treatment following unilateral elbow joint arthroscopy using force plate analysis and pain scoring. Methods Thirty‐one dogs were randomly allocated to receive 0·1 mg/kg intra‐articular morphine, 0·5 mg/kg bupivacaine or no treatment following elbow arthroscopy. Force plate analysis, pain scoring and kinematic evaluation were performed before anaesthesia, 4 and 24 hours after surgery. Peak vertical force index, symmetry index, rate of loading, rate of unloading, stance time and range of motion were obtained from gait analysis. Pain scoring was performed every 4 hours and interventional analgesia (0·3 mg/kg methadone) was administered if necessary. Results Of 29 dogs analysed, peak vertical force index (P