Roy and his foreleg lameness - canine acupuncture case study

I first met Roy when he was five years old. He had a five-month history of right foreleg lameness that responded to rest and anti-inflammatories, but the limp kept recurring. Roy had been to a specialist and undergone CT scans of the right foreleg, with a diagnosis of medial shoulder instability with biceps bursitis. He had been placed in a foreleg hobble and instructed to rest for the past two months in the hope that the foreleg injury would improve, however the limp was still persisting.

On first meeting Roy, it was obvious that the right foreleg was not his only problem. He had also developed an infiltrative lipoma as a six-month-old puppy and had muscles and part of the pelvis on his right side removed. As he grew, his pelvis rotated, resulting in spinal restrictions through the lumbar region and also in his neck. Roy had to use his front legs unevenly to compensate for the primary issue of his pelvic malformation. As Roy was not exercising, he was also under-toned in his muscles and overweight. His fascia was tight and inelastic; even attempting to flex his elbows and wrists was difficult. 

Roy underwent a multi-approach treatment plan. We used acupuncture to help improve pain and circulation in the front legs, as well as release restrictions through the back, neck and into the pelvis. His acupuncture treatments varied, and included the following:

• SI3 - for shoulder and neck pain and for opening the governing vessel channel along the back.

• SI9 - for shoulder pain

• BL40 - as a master point for the caudal back.

• BL17 - was utilised as a point that assists with improving blood and yin to enhance the elasticity and quality of fascia.

• GB34 - a great point for pain and tendon and ligament disorders.

Local points around the pelvis were utilised to relieve pelvic pain and muscle strain, and to enable Roy to take more weight through his back end, thereby reducing strain on this front legs. These included lumbar Bai Hui and BL27 for lumbo-sacral pain. GB27 was utilised for rear limb weakness and release of the illiopsoas muscles. 

In addition to acupuncture, biomechanical osteopathic techniques were used to release restrictions in Roy’s neck and spine. We changed his diet to a real-food diet to assist his tissues with the nutrition needed for healing and repair. We also restarted his walks and had the owners perform mobilisation exercises for his scapula and wrists, as well as side and back stretches. The hobble was left on for a further month due to specialist advice; however, it was removed as soon as this period was complete.

Within one month of treatment, Roy would have a short limp on rising, but no noticeable limp thereafter. Within three months, Roy was back to his long walks with no limping. He had lost weight, gained muscle condition, and his fascia felt much more supple, resilient and resistant to injury. Roy continues to have periodic treatment due to the strain caused by his pelvic malformation, however there has been no recurrence of his forelimb lameness.

This case study was originally published by the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies https://civtedu.org/case-studies