Hi Laurie,
My question today is about braces for achilles issues. I am seeing a 11 y.o. golden retriever who has an achilles strain that doc does not want to do surgery on saying it is a chronic condition & wants him to have rehab & bracing. Well the poor guy is trying but not making much progress & is also having issues in his front leg from the added strain. Owner is now giving him Adequan & says it is helping = this is an owner who as she is watching her dog walking & collapsing on his hind leg & is struggling to walk, asks me if she can take him hiking, good grief. I've done a search on various achilles brace options & wanted to know what you would recommend. I hesitate to get the kind that covers the bottom of the foot as he will need to wear this long term - but are the braces that don't cover the bottom of the foot supportive enough? I see ortho pets makes one that doesn't cover the foot that appears to be pretty supportive, there is a vet that does ortho pet braces a few hours from here - they are pretty expensive so I wanted to be able to recommend other options as well.
Thanks much!! J
Achille's Bracing
Re: Achille's Bracing
Hi J
I dabble between Therapaw, Hero, and Orthopets.
Therapaw I like for a tear without as much drop. Hero is usually my ‘go to’ for a more permanent solution and a dropped hock.
I just did a lovely Therapaw brace with thermoplastics, straps, padding etc for a geriatric little sheltie. So far, it’s working like a hot damn! My biggest concern with long term use is skin breakdown at the calcaneus. Time will tell for this little guy... but the price was more doable for the owners, so that's where I started.
Hero I have used for dropped tarsus. It has the foot piece, but I think that can be a good thing. A dropped tarsus = tear of the SDFT. Without the SDFT, then the foot eventually flattens out as well. So the foot piece serves to protect that aspect as well.
I’ve worked with an Orthopets brace that started off with the foot piece. That then gradually increased in mobility (via adjustable pieces and fabulous videos), followed by removal of the foot piece, and then removal of the brace altogether! It was an amazing case to work with… and it worked! The dog had a normal tarsus / normal standing angle at the end of it all! Floored me really. But I think that was more a factor of timing and degree of injury than specific to the brace. No disrespect to the brace. I just mean that I wouldn’t expect that success with all cases.
It's never a 'cut and dried' answer!
Laurie
I dabble between Therapaw, Hero, and Orthopets.
Therapaw I like for a tear without as much drop. Hero is usually my ‘go to’ for a more permanent solution and a dropped hock.
I just did a lovely Therapaw brace with thermoplastics, straps, padding etc for a geriatric little sheltie. So far, it’s working like a hot damn! My biggest concern with long term use is skin breakdown at the calcaneus. Time will tell for this little guy... but the price was more doable for the owners, so that's where I started.
Hero I have used for dropped tarsus. It has the foot piece, but I think that can be a good thing. A dropped tarsus = tear of the SDFT. Without the SDFT, then the foot eventually flattens out as well. So the foot piece serves to protect that aspect as well.
I’ve worked with an Orthopets brace that started off with the foot piece. That then gradually increased in mobility (via adjustable pieces and fabulous videos), followed by removal of the foot piece, and then removal of the brace altogether! It was an amazing case to work with… and it worked! The dog had a normal tarsus / normal standing angle at the end of it all! Floored me really. But I think that was more a factor of timing and degree of injury than specific to the brace. No disrespect to the brace. I just mean that I wouldn’t expect that success with all cases.
It's never a 'cut and dried' answer!
Laurie
LAURIE EDGE-HUGHES