Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Acupuncture treatment for cats with spinal disc disease
By Choi, Keum Hwa & Hill, Sara A·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2009·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Acupuncture treatment for feline multifocal intervertebral disc disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 14-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat was brought in for severe problems with his hind legs, including difficulty walking and muscle wasting. After tests, he was diagnosed with multifocal intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), which was causing pressure on his spine. Initially, a high dose of steroids didn’t help, but after starting a combination of acupuncture treatments and physical therapy, the cat showed significant improvement. Four months later, he was able to rise, walk, and even run again, marking a successful recovery from his condition.
People also search for: cat hind leg problems · feline intervertebral disc disease treatment · acupuncture for cat mobility issues
Abstract
A 14-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat was admitted to the Veterinary Medical Center, University of Minnesota for evaluation of severe hind limb ataxia, atrophy and paresis. Diagnosis based on physical examination, neurological assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was multifocal intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) with dorsal disc protrusion throughout the thoracic and cranial lumbar spine. The Oriental Medicine (OM) diagnosis (pattern identification) was painful obstruction (Bi) syndrome caused by phlegm-heat accumulation with blood stagnation in the spine. High dose prednisolone therapy (1.25mg/kg PO, once daily) initially did not show any significant improvement in clinical signs. The cat was then treated with several modes of acupuncture treatment including dry needle acupuncture, electro-acupuncture and scalp acupuncture along with Tui-Na (hand manipulation in OM) and physical therapy. Significant improvements in mobility, proprioception and spinal posture were noticed and the cat was able to rise, walk and run 4 months after starting acupuncture treatments. This is the first case report of feline IVDD with multiple sites of disc compression which was successfully treated with several modes of acupuncture treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19186087/