Study of acupuncture treatment on paresis in companion animal
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Liu, Ching-Ming
Abstract
Cases of spinal cord diseases which cause paresis are commonly encountered by canine practitioners. The causes are structural compression such as intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), vertebral dislocation, spondylosis, or non-structural compression such as fibrocartilaginous embolism. Conservative intervention and surgery are the two main treatment modalities. Cases of severe structural compression require surgery. Certain others are responsive to acupuncture treatment. There is an increasing tendency to use acupuncture as an alternate treatment due to its less invasive character and its effectiveness in certain cases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate new acupuncture protocols for the clinical treatment of cervical spinal cord diseases in dogs. A new standardized protocol of three options comprised mainly of the Jing-jiaji, SI3, LI4, LIV3 acupoints was performed. These options consisted of gradual treatment with dry needle acupuncture (AP) and electro-acupuncture (EAP) applied to cervical spinal cord area depending on the disease severity. Three treatment options were developed to treat neck pain, hemiparesis, and tetraparesis depending on the severity. The interval between the neurological disease onset and treatment (duration of signs), time to improvement after treatment, and recovery time were compared in the dogs by body weight, age, and dry needle acupuncture (AP) with or without electro-AP (EAP). The improvement and recovery times were longer in the AP+EAP group compared to AP group (p < 0.05). Acupuncture with Jing-jiaji was effective in cervical spinal cord diseases in different sized dogs and in middle-aged and senior dogs. This report standardized AP treatment for canine cervical problems and evaluated its effects. This study also was conducted in 84 dogs with thoracolumbar spinal cord diseases of different breeds divided into two main groups: the non-surgery (n=65) and post-intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) surgery (n=19) groups, which were referred to our practice for TCVM treatment due to thoracolumbar spinal cord disease. A new standardized protocol of four options comprised mainly of the Hua-tuo-jiaji (HTJJ), GB30, GB34, LIV3, LI4 acupoints plus Chinese herbal medicine was performed. These options consisted of gradual treatment with dry needle acupuncture (AP) and electro-acupuncture (EAP) applied to the thoracolumbar spinal cord area depending on the disease severity. Duration of sign, improvement time, and recovery time were recorded. In the non-surgery group, the success rate was 95%. The mean improvement time was 13.1 days, the average number of acupuncture sessions was 4 while the mean recovery time was 27.5 days, with 6.5 sessions. In the post-IVDD surgery group, good outcomes were achieved in 74% of the dogs. The mean improvement time was 18.6 days, with an average of 6.1 sessions while the mean recovery time was 53 days, with an average of 11.6 sessions. There was no significant statistical difference between AP and EAP in the efficacy without breed predisposition and the severity impacted the prognosis. We concluded that the newly standardized AP methodology offers clinical practitioners an effective way to improve the outcomes of cervical and thoracolumbar spinal cord diseases in dogs. These new acupuncture methods had favorable efficacy in clinical cases.
Subjects
Acupuncture
Cervical spinal cord disease
Dog
French bulldog
Hemivertebra
Hua-tuo-jiaji
Jing-jiaji
Paraparesis
Tetraparesis
Type
thesis