Able Pet

Custom Splinting with Thermoplastics

By Ilaria F. Borghese, MS, MA, OTR/L
Thera-Paw, Inc., Lebanon, New Jersey

Low-temperature thermoplastics have been used in human rehabilitative medicine for custom splinting since the 1960s. The versatility of thermoplastics enables them to be shaped to any body part, and used for creating custom designs to meet various patient needs (Figures 1 and 2). Splints are fabricated to target a variety of conditions and goals: To stabilize or immobilize a body part (e.g., fracture management), protect against injury (e.g., from neglect following cerebral vascular accident), prevent injury of healing structures (e.g., following tendon repair), and prevent or correct deformity (e.g., ulnar deviation from rheumatoid arthritis).

Figure 2

Figure 1

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Low-temperature thermoplastics usually come in flat sheets, although pellets and rods are also available (Figure 3). The flat sheets come in a variety of colors, thicknesses, and degrees of perforation. These sheets are heated in hot water (about 200°) where they become pliable, then are removed and draped and molded over the target body part. The wide variability of animal shapes and sizes makes custom splinting with thermoplastics a likely choice when off-the-shelf splints do not fit, target the joint or body part, or meet the patient’s goal (Figures 4 & 5). The general procedure for fabricating a thermoplastic splint is on the following page in the boxed area.

Step 1: paper pattern is
drawn of the body part
and the pattern is cut out

Step 2: paper pattern is
reproduced on a thermoplastic
sheet

Step 3: thermoplastic
sheet is heated in hot
water until soft and pliable
then removed

Step 4: splint shape is cut
out of the malleable thermoplastic
sheet

Step 5: animal’s body part
is prepped with a light,
protective stocking

Step 6: soft splint shape is
draped and molded directly
on the body and held
until set

Step 7: heat gun is used
to smooth edges and
make adjustments

General steps to
make a custom thermoplastic splint

Figure 6

The splint is padded with self-adhesive foam, then fastened with hook and loop straps. In addition, the thermoplastic material can be reheated and remolded to accommodate the patient’s changing needs. Alternatively, a custom splint can be formed over a soft wrap to provide changeable degrees of support [e.g., splint and wrap combination can be worn while the animal is most active (Figure 6), and the splint can be removed when the animal is more sedentary (Figure 7)]. Custom splinting materials are readily available.

Contact www.therapaw.com or your local distributor for more information.

Figure 7