Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electrostimulated acupuncture reduces elbow arthritis pain in dogs
By Kapatkin, Amy S et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2006·Department of Clinical Studies-Philadelphia, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of electrostimulated acupuncture on ground reaction forces and pain scores in dogs with chronic elbow joint arthritis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 9 dogs with chronic front leg limping due to elbow joint arthritis was treated with a special type of acupuncture called electrostimulated acupuncture (ESA) to see if it would help reduce their pain and improve their movement. After several weeks of treatment, the owners reported that 8 out of 9 dogs seemed to notice when they were receiving the ESA, but the treatment did not significantly improve their lameness or pain levels compared to a control treatment. Overall, ESA did not show clear benefits for these dogs suffering from elbow arthritis.
People also search for: dog elbow arthritis treatment · acupuncture for dog pain · why is my dog limping
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether use of electrostimuluated acupuncture (ESA) would result in significant improvements in ground reaction forces and lameness scores in dogs with chronic elbow joint osteoarthritis secondary to elbow joint dysplasia. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, crossover clinical trial. ANIMALS: 9 dogs with chronic forelimb lameness and radiographic evidence of elbow joint osteoarthritis. PROCEDURES: All dogs had a 3-week control acclimation period during which gait analysis was performed weekly. Dogs then received ESA once weekly for 3 weeks followed by a sham treatment once weekly for 3 weeks or received the sham treatment followed by ESA. Gait analysis was repeated prior to each treatment, and owners were asked to provide pain scores by use of a visual analog scale method. RESULTS: Treatment (control, acupuncture, or sham) did not have a significant effect on ground reaction forces for any limb. Owners of 8 of the 9 dogs were able to correctly guess the time period when ESA was delivered. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that ESA did not have any significant effects on severity of lameness, as determined by measurement of ground reaction forces, or severity of pain, as determined by visual analog scale pain scores, in dogs with chronic elbow joint osteoarthritis secondary to elbow joint dysplasia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16649937/