Canine ACL Surgery Options

The traditional approach to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in a dog is surgery, due to the fact that the surgical option does repair the damaged ligament. The ACL is located in the knee of the dog, thus making any injury not only painful when the dog walks or runs, but putting into question the dog's ability to function. There are alternatives to surgery, and pet owners should be aware of those options.

  1. Rehab

    • Rehab is a concept that is sometimes associated with recovery from surgery, but in this case it is an idea to avoid surgery. According to the Oregon State University website, dog owners annually spend over $1 billion on surgery to repair ACL tears, and that expenditure may not be totally necessary. While a complete tear of the ACL will not heal itself and has to be surgically repaired, many ACL injuries involve partial tears. The research cited by Oregon State shows that rehab can replace surgery as an option, using techniques of underwater treadmills, laser therapy and exercises designed to strengthen the muscles around the ACL. The cost of rehab is much lower than surgery, and can produce a good result.

    Weight Control

    • One of the causes of ACL partial tears is excess weight, which puts more pressure on the knees and eventually wears out the ligaments that are holding up the body. While weight control is a good preventive option, as outlined in the Oregon State article, it is also helpful when dealing with a partial tear. The dog will have more success in rehab if it is thinner, thus being more able to fully participate in the therapy.

    Prolotherapy

    • According to Dog Community, this treatment is based on healing the inflammation of the knee joint that accompanies an ACL tear, through the use of an injection of an irritant to accelerate the healing process.

    Restricted Activity

    • This option, recommended by Dog Ligament Injury, essentially is similar to an option a human would use with a knee injury, that is, stay off the knee as much as possible and let it heal on its own. This would probably be more difficult with a dog, but the partial ACL tear will heal if it is not aggravated. Whether it will heal enough could only be determined after trying this option.