A Randomized Controlled Blinded Clinical Trial of Electro-acupuncture Administered One Month After Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair in Dogs.

Electro-acupuncture (EA) treatments are commonly used for post-operative or musculoskeletal pain in dogs, but few randomized controlled trials have examined the acute and chronic effects of such treatments. Eighteen client-owned dogs presenting for surgical recheck 1-month post-cranial cruciate ligament repair were randomized to a control group or EA group that received 30 minutes of EA at a frequency of 2-100 Hz at ST-36, ST-34, GB-34, GB-30, BL-40, GV-20 and Baihui- E. A blinded evaluator collected goniometric range of motion values and gait analysis data before and immediately after treatment. Enrolled dogs had decreased stance time, weight-bearing and tarsal range of motion in the affected limb, compared to the contralateral pelvic limb, prior to treatment. The EA procedure resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the stance time of the affected limb, whereas there was no change in the control group. No range of motion and gait analysis benefits of 1 EA treatment was found in this study. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the delayed effects of EA, the influence of different acupuncture points and protocols and the effect of multiple treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]