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What are Carpal Pad Injuries?

What are Carpal Pad Injuries?

Your dogs carpal pad is the hard knuckle at the back of the wrist joint. Carpal pad injuries include carpal hyperextension when the ligament tears or ruptures, carpal arthritis, swelling, grazing causing bleeding, punctures. We strongly recommend supporting your dogs carpal to provide protection and reduce re-injury.

Best Carpal Pad Supports

Types of Dog Carpal Pad Injuries

You might have seen your dog with one of the following carpal pad injuries:

  • Carpal hyperextension - this is common carpal injury, the carpal ligament is pulled, torn or completely ruptured. Your dogs carpal pad will start to get lower to the floor
  • Carpal arthritis and osteoarthritis.- arthritis can show in one or both front legs. Your dog might show swelling on the angle of the carpal joints can change. Arthritis symptoms include your dog getting out of bed slowly, going slower on walks, finds tight corners difficult or uncomfortable.
  • Carpal arthrodesis -produces a change in gait for your dog
  • Carpal strain - due to exercise or an accident e.g. your dog jumping down from a high wall
  • Carpal damage - due to an accident. This can include lacerated the carpal muscle and ligaments
Penny, with double carpal hyperextension

Penny, with double carpal hyperextension

The Therapaw Carpo Flex X Wrap offers moderate to firm support to your dog's wrist and carpal joint. This will support ligament or tendon damage, post-operative support, carpal hyper-extension, chronic arthritis and general weakness in the wrist. Your dog can enjoy all normal activities whilst wearing this support.

Penny Uses Therapaw Carpo X Wrap
Ebony, greyhound, prone to straining his carpal

Ebony, greyhound, prone to straining his carpal

The Walkabout Compression Sleeve is excellent for your dog if they are experiencing arthritis, joint pain, tendon or ligament weakness in either their front or back legs. The sleeve provides support and compression, which increases circulation and reduces inflammation.

Walkabout Compression Sleeve for Front
Boo, with right front carpal arthritis

Boo, with right front carpal arthritis

The Therapaw Carpo Flex Sports Wrap is a moderate support for the dog's carpal joint / wrist / front lower leg. The Carpo Flex Sport wrap offers relief from mild arthritis, sprains to the lower limb and ligaments, protects against injury, re-injury and alleviates pain.

Boo Uses therapaw carpo sport
Max, with front leg carpal arthrodesis

Max, with front leg carpal arthrodesis

Give your dog the carpal support it needs! The Balto Joint Carpal Compression Band is excellent for injuries or weakness around your dogs front carpal and wrist, including arthritis and ligament issues. With adjustable straps and ergonomic design, your dog will be back to running in no time!

Max uses Balto joint splint

Zoomadog Customers: How to help your dogs carpal pad

“Just wondering what carpal wraps you would recommend for a very active whippet? When he gets excited he spins in a circle when chasing or playing etc he does this and occasionally he has had a strain where he has overextended his carpal joint. I’m looking for wraps to support him? He is otherwise fit and healthy, just want to support his joints as much as possible.”

Your whippet sounds very active! The Therapaw Carpo Flex Sports Dog Wrap would be the best for your whippet, they are great for helping to protect against injuries. It provides light to medium support, stabilising your whippet’s wrist without holding it rigid, and can be worn all day although we would recommend taking it off when your dog is resting.

“Our 12 yr old retriever Crunchie, her paw and leg are under considerable stress, with both tendon and ligament damage. She is currently having physio and hydro at Battersea dogs home in London. They have recommended the carpal splint highlighted below. Does this sound the right solution?”

Yes the Balto Joint Dog Carpal Compression Splint is good for moderate cases of carpal tendon or carpal ligament damage. It has removable splints so you can adjust the strength as your dog recovers. You might also like to look at the Carpal Splint if you dog needs more carpal support or the Therapaw Carpo Flex X which offers moderate support, and the added benefit of being able to be worn all day, in and out the house.

“Hi – last week someone left a broken bottle on a field and whilst he was playing it severed an artery, lacerated his muscle and some small ligaments just in front of his stopper pad on his front left foot. They sent him home with no support advised he may need further surgery should the foot flat. Being a typical Staffy and fiercely independent and without any support his foot has because flatter and the wound opened up again (it’s in a really awkward place to heal) so he had surgery again and they’ve said he now has some carpal hyperextension. I was thinking this brace would allow the carpal tendons and ligaments time to heal properly”

Thank you for your message about your Staffy – sorry to hear about the glass bottle. Very unlucky. For a splint, you would be best to get a paw splint called a ‘Bootie Splint’ here. This is exactly the same as the Full Leg Splint with the same shape at the paw but only half the height so is lighter.
If you want a wrap which is a lot more comfortable than a rigid splint, or maybe after the Bootie Splint has been on a while and the healing begun, the Therapaw Carpo wraps for hyperextension are very popular.

Dog Carpal Pad Injuries

Have questions about your dog and carpal pad injuries?

Give us a call, email or chat to us online

Give us a Call on - 01730 622544