Leg Wrist Wrap/brace

[Guest Shermanator]

Little Miss Echo is almost 3 years old. We adopted her about 2 months ago. When we adopted her, we were told that she had a birth defect in her leg, and it twists outward, and causes her to limp. However, our super-savvy greyhound vet believes as a puppy, she tore all the tendons and muscles in the wrist, and, nothing was really done, so the leg healed at an angle.

 

Anyway, she limps. It does not appear to cause a lot of pain, although the vet believes she'll have some discomfort.

She is SUPER energetic! She LOVES to race around the house, and LOVES her walks! She doesn't just race in the house, its a full-blown-crazy-dog play session. When she finishes, she'll limp more than usual, but never cries, or tries to protect her leg. And she LOVES to go for walks, but after @ 300 yards, she starts to limp, and sometimes will hop. However, she is still in front of the pack, wanting to walk, walk, walk! and does not appear to be in pain. No signs of pain, such as crying, panting, etc. No behavior changes. With the limp, I'll only walk her around the block, which is not enough to tire this little girl. She needs more outlets for her energy, more walks. She's always raring to go.

 

Anyway, I was thinking of a leg wrap to help support that wrist. I included a picture of her wrist - its the one she has positioned towards the front of the picture.

Or, perhaps we should have a brace? I want to help her support that leg, so she can the active pup she is, and help eliminate that limp.

 

First, here's a pic of Miss Echo. She looks like she is permanently in a wind tunnel. One ear is kinked, and points inward. She'll straighten it out, only if she's on alert.

 

Here's her wrist- it looks very weak.

[GreyTzu]

Maybe Watson's has something you can use.

[Guest BiancasMom]

There are lots of braces/supports out there if you google "Canine carpal support or brace". My Australian Shepherd had an injury that caused his carpus to be unstable (looked a lot like your picture but without the outward turning) and we did surgery to help him. He had a partial carpal arthrodesis, where they fuse part of the joint. I am not sure if this is an option for your doggie but it may be worth asking about. I would be worried that the braces or supports might cause more pain if the force the leg into a more natural position that she is not used to. Good luck :-)

[Guest greyt2love]

My Chloe has a wrist that looks like this from a break that didn't heal well. I have always had the same concern you do. I brought it up with 2 different vets in the office, and even printed pictures from the Thera-Paws site that I thought might help support it for her. Both vets told me that once the bone was healed it was stronger than the bend made it look, and that wearing some type of support could cause it's own problems from rubbing and chafing. Having read about problems some hounds have had when they wore casts, I could see the point the vets were making. I still think I should do something to support it, and I do have somehting I bought off E-bay that is similar to what people use to support weak ankles and such. Soft neoprene type material with metal supports inside that fastens with velcro. If she is going to be on her feet walking and running for an extended time, I put that on . Otherwise, I just pray that the vets are right! They did tell me that she will have arthritis in it, but up to now (she's 4 1/2) no signs of that.

 

But I am going to Watson's and take a look!

[Guest Shermanator]

My Chloe has a wrist that looks like this from a break that didn't heal well. I have always had the same concern you do. I brought it up with 2 different vets in the office, and even printed pictures from the Thera-Paws site that I thought might help support it for her. Both vets told me that once the bone was healed it was stronger than the bend made it look, and that wearing some type of support could cause it's own problems from rubbing and chafing. Having read about problems some hounds have had when they wore casts, I could see the point the vets were making. I still think I should do something to support it, and I do have somehting I bought off E-bay that is similar to what people use to support weak ankles and such. Soft neoprene type material with metal supports inside that fastens with velcro. If she is going to be on her feet walking and running for an extended time, I put that on . Otherwise, I just pray that the vets are right! They did tell me that she will have arthritis in it, but up to now (she's 4 1/2) no signs of that.

 

But I am going to Watson's and take a look!

 

Does she limp?

[Guest greyt2love]

Not usually walking around the house, but outside, if she's been running, yes, she does. Or if we are someplace like GIG where she walked for long stretches of time. I try to avoid taking her to anyplace where she will be on her leg for long stretches.

[Guest sheila]

Wow the poor kid! It sure seems like there should be something that could be done to alleviate her discomfort. The only thing I can suggest is to either find a vet who specializes in orthopedic care (if there is such a thing) or getting her into a veterinary school. I don't think that Arizona has an actual Veterinary College but perhaps if you call your vet he or she can direct you to the closest one in your area.