Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

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Chapmd
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Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Chapmd »

Hi all! New here and just looking for some advice for my frenchie with stage 5 IVDD - now post two surgeries - and timing for using a wheelchair. I've gotten different opinions from physical therapists, his current rehab vet, and a family friend who is also a rehab vet in another city, so any advice or ideas would be great!

Some background: my frenchie is 3yo and VERY motivated to get moving! He had his first surgery 5/16/22 after waking up suddenly with his hind legs completely paralyzed with no deep pain sensation (L2-L4 hemilaminectomy). He was on crate rest and just cleared for PT when one of his hind legs again went completely paralyzed and he had a second surgery 6/29/22 (T12-L1 hemilaminectomy). About 6 weeks after his second surgery, his neurologist cleared him to restart PT.

We've been going to physical therapy twice a week (1-1.5 hour sessions) consistently for the past 4 months - acupuncture, physical therapy, and he just started the underwater treadmill a few weeks ago. He can stand on his own for quite some time and take a few steps when there's traction on the ground - but gets pretty tired after about 5 minutes even with his help em up harness. However he doesn't know his limits and always wants to keep going, but starts dragging his hind legs and gets abrasions on his toes from knuckling. He has a stroller that I put him in when this starts happening - but lately he's gotten very frustrated in the stroller and hops up and down (which isn't good for his back), tries to climb out of it, and just doesn't like it anymore.

My question is would it be helpful to get a dog wheelchair for him, but let him keep his hind legs on the ground (not in the stirrups) to provide him more support and let him go on longer walks? I'm all about maximizing his quality of life and can tell that lately he just wants to keep walking and not be in the stroller, but with his help em up harness he gets so tired and his toes start dragging even with full support, so I have to pick him up and carry him back home which frustrates him too. In terms of his overall recovery he's been making slow progress - it's slowed down over the past couple weeks though hasn't completely plateaued yet. He still needs his bladder expressed (he can pee a little on his own but not ever fully empty) and matchsticking. The vet said it's still hard to predict how far he'll get though obviously the goal remains being able to walk on his own.

The vet told us when he started PT to avoid using a wheelchair too early since dogs can rely on it too much. Knowing my pup though and seeing how well he's doing in rehab now 5 months after his second surgery, I don't think this will happen because again he is VERY motivated and determined to walk on his own, but wondering what others think? Would it be helpful to let him use the wheelchair so he can be happy on longer walks, or would it impede his progress? This would be while continuing the PT still - not to replace it.

Any thoughts/suggestions are much appreciated!! Thank you! <3
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CarolC
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by CarolC »

:group:

I'm not a rehab expert, this is only based on experience. I would think as long as you're not decreasing his rehab visits or his at-home PT, a wheelchair might be helpful. Here is what I wrote about my dog.
CarolC wrote: Tue May 31, 2005 11:49 am I had to invest 40 minutes a day getting my dog tired enough to work. I got the idea from quarterhorses. You need to let them run flat out for a distance when you first go to ride in order to have a manageable horse the rest of the way. You have to give them their head and let them get it out of their system. It's the same with your dog. He's been cooped up and bored like a horse stuck in a stall. Ya gotta let him exercise till he's got his energy level down before you ask him to work. It's only fair. Otherwise he'll just take off all eager-dog like he's doing now. The first 30 minutes are his, the second 30 are yours.
CarolC wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:31 am I would say a cart can be a tool for recovery, based on my own experience with my dog. It took my dog 9 months to begin to walk a little. (She had a spinal fracture, a complete break where the two parts of the spine were knocked out of line as if they were trying to leapfrog over each other.) When my dog had recovered to the point where she could take a few steps, we ran into a problem that she was just so eager to be active, she would constantly be trying to "drag off to the four corners" of the earth. She would not want to practice her steps, or take the time to place her feet correctly, she wanted to head out, so she would immediately begin dragging, and no amount of telling her to slow down did any good. This included if I tried to tail walk her, away she'd go on her front feet. She was much more interested in darting off to smell things. So literally, when I would come home in the evening, I would put a long scarf around her waist and we would go out the front door with me carrying her hindquarters with the scarf, and she would ***run*** the first half block to the corner, with me running to keep up, carrying her with the scarf. That was how much energy she had. We must have been quite a sight. I used to say, and this is probably a low estimate, we put 500 miles on that scarf before she learned to walk. Maybe you have to have an active breed like a chihuahua to understand.

But anyway, I learned the most valuable lesson...I had to give Katie at least 30 minutes (or more) of really active playtime to get her energy level down, so afterwards we could practice our standing and walking. And I could tell when she would start to settle down. I used to say, the first 30 minutes were hers, the next 30 were mine. If we hadn't done this, honestly she never would have learned to walk, she just would have dragged wherever she wanted to go and never slowed down enough to learn to walk, because slow is not her nature.
I noticed you said after 5 minutes he has trouble even with full support. The wheelchair is full support and will be much like using the Help Em Up harness in that respect, so I suppose there's a chance it won't work for him.

The other thing I really noticed was that they didn't start him on the underwater treadmill until recently. Boy, I sure don't understand that. To me that's the best rehab exercise you can do. My dog had a spinal fracture with complete overriding of the spinal canal with no deep pain sensation. They did not find DPS till 149 days post-surgery (almost 5 months). Her PT consisted of 2 sling walks a day and weight bearing exercises during every walk, as well as professional PT 2x/week where she went on the underwater treadmill for 45 minutes each session. It took about 9 months but she did learn to walk again. We continued PT after she was walking and she continued to improve further and do new things for nearly 5 years.

The past year and a half I've been working with a tetraplegic dog. We did 5 short sessions a day and it took us about 6 months till he could walk across the yard. He didn't get any PT whatsoever the first 3 months he was paralyzed (he was in a rescue) so we started at the 3-month point and he'd been down about 9 months by the time he could walk.

The benefit of short sessions was it was easier on both of us. He gets very fatigued, and I do too because I'm holding him a lot during his exericises and I'm not that strong. He did not get professional PT, because the rehab I went to before closed down. He did get an acupuncture series but I'm not sure it really did him any good. I ended up thinking about 55% maybe(??) it helped and about 45% it didn't help at all, but the acupuncture therapist was nice. I'd say if your dog isn't obviously showing results from acupunture after a few sessions (think we did 5) then the underwater treadmill is a better way to spend time and money. I'd stick with hydrotherapy.

There was a dog here named Murphy. Murphy was an IVDD beagle who did hydrotherapy by swimming in a horse rehab pool. It took him months to learn to walk but he did. Murphy's dad let him use a wheelchair part time as needed. He would use it for longer walks with their other beagle. Joe said it was easier than carrying him back.

Another good thing about the cart is, you can use it to help him take steps. Put his feet down (not in stirrups) after he has burned off some energy and hold his ankles and make each foot take steps and contact the ground. Let each paw feel the ground solidly with each step. It doesn't matter whether you have the steps in sync with the front feet, just do it. It's called patterning. It will help. You have to bend over to do it, but you don't have to support any weight. The only way you can do patterning with a sling is with a partner, but a wheelchair lets you do it with only one person.

I don't blame him for being antsy, and he may also be responding to the crisp weather (depending on where you live). And he's young. I think we all, dogs and humans, need at least a couple of good exercise sessions a week to feel our best so we're not climbing the walls. One advantage of the underwater treadmill is it provides a good workout, while also helping him recover his walking.

Scraping up the tops of the toes from knuckling is to be expected during recovery. I would say the wheelchair is a good idea if you can afford it, and if you or the therapist notice any regression or it's not working out like you expected, then you can put the cart away and not use it. If you buy an adjustable wheelchair you can resell it easier than custom.
Chapmd
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Chapmd »

Thank you so much, CarolC!! Really appreciate the advice and for sharing your experiences! My dog sounds a lot like Katie in terms of energy - I think it will be helpful to let him go on his own to tire him out physically, and then use the wheelchair after that to help support him - I'll definitely try the patterning too! He always just wants to propel himself forward w his front legs so having the wheelchair to support him will def help me work on him taking actual steps w his back legs without him trying to zoom away.

And thanks for the note about the acupuncture - I've been thinking the same thing for my dog and am not sure if it's helping much, especially since he is so energetic and rarely even calm during the acupuncture sessions. I'm glad he's doing the hydrotherapy now and we'll focus on that as much as we can.

Thank you again so much! Super helpful!
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critters
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by critters »

:whale: It sounds to me that wheels would be a good thing for him, just like with people, to help bridge the gap. With wheels you could let him stand on his legs a bit, with support, like a human does with a walker. When he's running amok it might be best to have his legs up, to prevent dragging. Supported walking could happen after some of his energy is expended.
Chapmd
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Chapmd »

Thank you for the advice! <3
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CarolC
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by CarolC »

Came across another example today and thought of you. :)
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14569&p=77091#p77091 wrote: Louie, a 4 yr old rescue pug, took a lot longer to get the idea and capability of moving the back legs. His nickname is Looney-tunes, and for good reason. He just wanted to run so bad, that he would not slow down enough to get the concentration needed. He built up muscle quickly, but everytime we took the straps off, he would just lift the back legs and run as fast as he could. Finally after nearly 18 months, he could walk, but still would start scooting when he got excited, which was often. It took a full 2 yrs in the cart with his hobbles, and walking a bit here and there, to graduate from the cart entirely. He has not used the cart for almost 2 yrs now. A bit of a long haul, but when we rescued him, a neurologist told us he had no deep pain sensation, and would never even lift his tail. I have a video of him running, wagging his curled up tail, and sent it to that neurologist!
Chapmd
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Chapmd »

Thank you!! Looney tunes is a great name for my pup too 😅 He’s having a flare up so resting up now, but definitely going to try the wheelchair when he’s feeling better!
Krisp138
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Krisp138 »

Just posting to agree .

They say a wheelchair helps with rehabilitation. I can see how it would especially since their feet can be in contact with the ground.

My dog liked his the first day but now he just looks at me terrified when hes in it,lol. I'm going to have to ask someone if I'm doing the harness properly.
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CarolC
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by CarolC »

I'd probably wait to try a wheelchair if he's on conservative treatment. However if you have an extra large dog and it's hard handle him, it may be the best option in that case. It's a judgment call. I
https://dodgerslist.com/2020/06/06/wheelchairs/%E2%80%8B wrote: Caution! Wheelchairs should not be used until crate rest for the Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) episode has been completed and upon advice of your vet:
  • 4-6 weeks for surgical cases
  • 8 weeks for conservative treatment with drugs and STRICT rest confinement
Chapmd
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Re: Wheelchair for partial paralysis?

Post by Chapmd »

Very helpful! I did end up purchasing a wheelchair for my pup - he was terrified of it at first so I had to leave it out for him to get used to it! :lol: He had a bit of a flare up a few weeks ago so currently resting him more just sticking to acupuncture/laser and mostly standing exercises, but excited to see him test it out soon! He seems very curious about it now and I do think it'll help him a lot!
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