When Does Your Dog Need a Knee Brace?

Rishi Goratela

August 10, 2020
3 min read

There are approximately 77 million dogs in the US, and they can suffer knee injuries just like humans. Some of the injuries are simple sprains, but others can be much more serious, like a tendon or a tear to the Canine Cruciate Ligament or CCL. It is estimate that 1.2 million dogs have surgery on their CCL per year in the US, which is about five times the number of human operations, although humans outnumber dogs five to one. But if your dog has a knee injury, you may be able to fit him with a dog knee brace instead of choosing expensive surgery.

Table of Contents

Why Get a Dog Knee Brace?
Here are some other times where you may want to consider a dog knee brace

Why Get a Dog Knee Brace?

A dog knee brace is a special orthopedic device that is place on the dog’s knee to guide the knee in healthy anatomical movements and to reduce motions that can damage the knee further. If your dog has an injure CCL, the knee brace will reduce the backward slide of the femur on his tibia and reduce the chances the ligament will stretch. This is sometimes refer to as a “drawer movement”.

The brace will let the knee flex or bend somewhat but it will reduce this motion to promote healing.

While many dogs are surgical candidates to fix their CCL, there are cases where the surgery will not work. Bracing can be the best solution when a dog is older. Some dogs have injuries to both legs and surgery on both would be extremely expensive and recovery challenging. Others simply cannot tolerate anesthesia because of age, weight, or other medical conditions.

In other cases, dogs may be too young for surgery because the growth plates in their bones have not mature yet. Bracing also is a good idea before or after surgery to protect the site for a large or very active dog. Some say that the dog knee brace will speed the rehabilitation process.

And of course, some people simply cannot afford thousands of dollars in surgical bills for their pet. In these cases, a dog knee brace truly can make a huge difference and make the dog’s life much better.