Retrospective Study of a New Standardized Acupuncture Treatment Protocol on Thoracolumbar Spinal Cord Diseases in 84 Dogs

Acupuncture is a conservative treatment for neurologic deficits expressing pain, paraparesis, or paralysis in dogs. There are many Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) experiences and theories. This retrospective study was conducted in 84 dogs of different breeds divided into two main groups: the nonsurgery (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 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. We concluded that there was no significant statistical difference between AP and EAP in the efficacy without breed predisposition and the severity impacted the prognosis. This new acupuncture method had favorable efficacy in clinical cases. (C) 2015 PVJ. All rights reserved