Breagh is a 10 year old, female – neutered Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was rescued by her current owner in December 2021, when she was six years old.
From very early on, her owner felt that Breagh had some stiffness around her back end and spasms along her back. Examination by Tonbridge Head Vet Abi, confirmed the presence of marked muscle spasms, especially in the lumbar region of her spine. Radiographs a short time later revealed some spondylosis (osteoarthritis of the spine) in this area. Breagh’s owner started hydrotherapy with her to help, but she was still stiff and uncomfortable, and was therefore started on Metacam (pain relied & anti -inflammatory) a little while later.
Despite all of this, Breagh continued to have pain and sensitivity around her back, therefore it was agreed that a CT scan would be a good idea to check for any other signs of spinal disease which may have been contributing to her ongoing discomfort.
The CT scan found multiple locations of intravertebral disc herniation, spondylosis and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disease which correlated with her clinical signs. A European Board Certified Neurology Specialist was consulted with the information from the CT scan, who confirmed the lesions were not surgical, which therefore meant that Breagh’s clinical signs would need to be managed with pain relief, anti – inflammatories and physical therapies.
A regime of medication was chosen and this did help with the pain slightly, but the muscle spasms continued despite regular physiotherapy, and the owner massaging Breagh at home daily.
When Abi completed her acupuncture course, Breagh was he first patient to be booked in. Acupuncture is effective for both analgesia, but is commonly used in myofascial syndrome in people – this is where there are taut, painful areas of a muscle which can lead to spasms.
At the start of each session, Abi examined Breagh, feeling each limb and all of the muscles either side of her spine. Abi started with an initial course of one session per week, mainly placing needles either side of Breagh’s spine, and focussing on the key area next to the spine that had been an ongoing issue.
After the first three sessions, Breagh’s owner had noticed that she was exercising more and seemed overall more comfortable. Following the first four weekly sessions, the sessions were reduced to every fortnight. By the sixth session (8 weeks into treatment), there was no palpable spasm in her back.
Moving to sessions every three weeks was attempted, however after three weeks the spasm had returned, and it was decided to continue with sessions every fortnight ongoing.
Breagh is not at all phased by having the needles placed, or to being sat with them in for 20 – 30 minutes. She has even started to yawn and is fighting sleep after 5 – 10 minutes!
Acupuncture is an extremely safe technique when performed correctly, with many uses and minimal side effects.
If you think that your pet may benefit from acupuncture, please click for more information.