Breagh – Acupuncture

Breagh is a ten 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 she had some stiffness around her back end and spasms along her back. Examination by Abi confirmed the presence of marked muscle spasms, especially in the lumbar region of her spine, and radiographs a short time later revealed some spondylosis (osteoarthritis of the spine) in this area. Her owner started physiotherapy with Breagh to help, but she was still stiff and uncomfortable and was therefore started on Metacam a little while later (this is an anti-inflammatory and pain relief medication).

Despite all 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 be contributing and any that may warrant surgery given her ongoing discomfort. The CT found multiple locations of intervertebral disc herniation, spondylosis and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disease which correlated well with her symptoms. A European board certified neurology specialist was consulted with the information from the CT who confirmed the lesions were not surgical and therefore symptoms 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 daily at home.

When Abi completed her acupuncture course, Breagh was the first patient to book in. Acupuncture is effective both for analgesia but is commonly used in myofascial pain syndrome in people (this is where there are taut, painful areas of a muscle which can lead to spasms). They can be the primary problem or occur secondary to another issue. In Breagh, we are suspicious this has occurred secondary to her spinal issues.

At the start of each session, Abi examines Breagh, feeling each limb and all down the muscles either side of her spine. She started with an initial course of one session per week, mainly placing needles either side of her spine and focussing on the key area next to the spine that has been an issue long term, and was consistently uncomfortable during palpation. At each session these areas were checked and she was examined for any new areas of concern.

After the first three sessions, the owner had noticed she was exercising more and seemed overall more comfortable and was moving better. So following the first four weekly sessions, the frequency was reduced to every two weeks. By the sixth session (eight weeks into treatment), there was no palpable spasm in the area of her back and this was a consistent improvement despite having been constantly reactive from the first day she was rescued by her owner.

Moving to sessions every three weeks was attempted however after three weeks the spasm had returned so it has been decided to continue sessions every 2 weeks ongoing.

Breagh is not at all phased by having the needles placed or to being sat with them in and tolerates them for 20-30 minutes; she even starts yawning and fighting sleep after 5-10 minutes.

Acupuncture is an extremely safe technique when performed correctly, with many uses and with minimal side effects, therefore if you think your pet may benefit from acupuncture please do not hesitate to contact us, or click below for further information.