Should I Get a Back Brace To Help My Dog With IVDD?
Woof. That is a great question.
Of course we all want to do what’s best for our pups and get them better. In the face of expensive back surgeries, a back brace seems to be a more financially feasible (and easy) option.
A dog’s back, much like ours, is composed of many (28 to be exact) individuals joints. So, a back brace on the outside of their body (ontop of fur and skin) that is a soft or semi-rigid device, must provide support to stabilize the joints of the spine.
Usually a dog will have an issue at one level, for example T10/T11. Because this joint is sandwiched between all of the joints above and all of the joints below it, the majority of the spine must be stabilized in order to stabilize this one section. Each spinal section both above and below the impacted area affects the movement of the injured segment.
If you break a bone, your doctor will put a hard cast around the bone to stabilize it and allow it to heal. If you break a bone on a weight bearing surface (like your knee), you will have the joint stabilized and likely not be able to place weight onto the joint for a period of time. If you have or know someone who has had a cast, you know that when you remove the cast, you have a very skinny body part left! This is because the muscles around the stabilized bone don’t have to work. Aka if you don’t use it, you lose it. The muscles atrophy, which means they shrink because you haven’t been using them!
The same thing would happen to a dog’s spine if we were able to find a brace to stabilize all of the joints in the back. If this muscle atrophy happened to both the back muscles and core muscles, your pup would be in a much worse position because when the brace comes off, there would be less muscle to support and control the spine! This would likely lead to further injury. Now this stabilization MAY be ideal in the short term (this IS performed on dogs with certain type of neck surgeries).
Have you ever taken a pain pill for neck, shoulder or back pain? Did the pill mask the pain for a bit, but then come back? OR did you feel so great, that you went crazy doing stuff and were feeling it more later than night? That’s similar to what a back brace would do for your dog. It’s likely to make YOU feel better about it than your dog.
The truth is that there is no solid research in people OR animals to support using a brace for any joint. If little evidence does suggest increased support it’s for a single joint, like a knee, which the brace stimulates muscle activation (through the device touching the skin). Or designed like a hard cast to completely limit movement. Unfortunately this “easy” fix, just can’t work like we hope.
It is safer to spend your money on a real solution to solve your pet’s problem. If surgery is not an option, rehabilitation is the next best option. A professional rehab therapist can properly assess your dog for what NEEDS to be done and then teach YOU how to best help your dog. No one wants to go through this difficult time alone and without any guidance.
I don’t want you to have to figure this out on your own. And I’d like to help you make the best decision for your pet so you can get them back to enjoy life again as quickly as possible.
If you are interested in hearing more about how rehab can help your pet, but aren’t ready to schedule an appointment yet, please click the link below and you can talk directly with a rehab therapist.