Dog limping... question... :)

Question
Hi!

About three weeks ago our 4-year old, 120lb lab mix dog fell at the dog park while running with some other dogs. He didn't yelp or seem hurt or anything, but later that night he was limping.  we thought it was no big deal and he was still running and playing like any other day for the next two weeks.

About a week ago we took him to the vet and they put him on anti-inflammitories thinking its either a sprain (taking longer to heal because we didnt rest him and his weight is about 10 lbs heavy) or a torn ligament. We've been resting him since then with just normal walks to try and keep him tired.

Since we got him on the AIs, he has been doing much better with no limping and minimal stiffness.  He seems to be stretching more, but that could also be because we've been resting him and he's been lying around more often.

He doesn't seem in pain at all, but I just wanted to see if I should be hopeful that we're going to be OK, or if he would seem better one way or the other?

We also have just started him on gloucosamine, chondriton and MSM to help with his joints to hopefully help more in the future.

Thanks so much for any advice... we are scheduled to go back after the AIs are done if he is still limping.  Hopefully that's not going to happen! :)

Answer
Without having examined him, I can not tell you whether or not he will be ok.  What you need to do is target his diet and get him to lose weight.  Labs are prone to hip problems and arthritis to begin with so I am sure you will be dealing with more of this in the future.  He may have partially tore his cruciate ligament in his knee and may get better with rest and meds, but often large breed dogs need surgery to get back to 100%.  The real test will be when you take him off the meds.   Pain reponse in dogs may be difficult to determine because many will hide their pain as it is their survival instinct.   If the limping comes back then I would have him x-rayed and also screened for Lyme Disease to be on the safe side.