World Spine Day - 2013 - AcuMed Veterinary Specialty

16th October,2013 is World Spine Day.

THE AIMS OF WORLD SPINE DAY ARE TO:

1. Raise awareness about spinal health and spine disorders within the interdisciplinary health care community and amongst public policy decision-makers and the general public.
   
2. To provide an opportunity for and encourage ongoing discussion about the burden of spinal disorders
    
3. To promote an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to easing the burden of spinal disorders.

Inter-vertebral Disc Disease ( IVDD ) is the most commonly occurring Neurological affection in Dogs.

Acupuncture has now been widely accepted as a procedure for the management and rehabilitation from Spinal diseases in Dogs in conjunction with the conventional therapy.

Spinal cord diseases often are accompanied with a poor prognosis, some dogs remain paralyzed for life.

 Early diagnosis leads to a faster initiation of therapy which increases the chances of recovery.

We wish to create awareness about the Spinal cord diseases amongst the Pet-Parents.

Quick Tips to Identify Early Signs of Spinal Diseases In Pets. (  <-- Click to view )

Veterinary Acupuncture for Paralysis - Lalu : AcuMed Veterinary Specialty

People who rescued him named him Lalu, because of the reddish hue over his coat.

He was spotted ,lying on a roadside, possibly a road accident case.
He was brought in and received medical attention. He could not life his hindlegs, lost control over urine and his back was painful,possibly post trauma.
He received a good Pain management and a short session of Acupuncture.

After one week, he was now able to stand up when assisted,but still control over urine was not regained. We continued treating him, he started improving by the passing day.
At the end of 6 weeks , he could now stand up unassisted and walk with a fairly good gait. He had regained control over his urine and his bedsore also had almost healed.

Recognizing Early Signs Of Spinal Cord Disorders - AcuMed Veterinary Specialty

We encounter numerous Spinal cord diseases everyday. We have found that diagnosing the Spinal diseases in its early stages can help prevent further worsening of symptoms. In this article we briefly try and demonstrate some simplified concepts and most common signs & symptoms that can be easily noticed by Pet owners and thus help prevent further Neurological dysfunction. 

Changes in Behavior : 

• Some Spinal diseases are associated with pain, docile pets become aggressive/whine when suddenly lifted and may even try to bite.
• Some show marked depression and fatigue due to the pain and are reluctant to move.

Changes in Posture : 

• One needs a keen eye to spot this one. 
• Lowered neck position.
• Arched back.
• Trembling while standing.

Knuckling / Proprioceptive loss - The "CARDINAL SIGN":

As shown in the above pictures, loss of proprioception is evident which in simple terms can be described as knuckling. This can be evident while standing or dragging of legs will be seen in a similar manner.

Changes in Gait / Walk & Loss of Balance: 

•  This can be appreciated while the pet is walking on a non-slippery surface like a hard ground or in a garden.
• A keen eye can spot the change in style of walks, disoriented gait, excessive swaying of the back. Some people even describe it as a "Drunken Gait".

Paraparesis & Paraplegia / Partial and Complete paralysis :

• Inability to support the hind legs, or all the four legs.
• Loss of function of hind legs.
• Loss of control over urine and stools along with inability to get up.

AcuMed Veterinary Specialty- Veterinary Acupuncture for Cats : Dewey !

Dewey - Instilled the belief in us that Cats indeed do have 9 lives.

Dewey was paralyzed and was lying at one of the corners and was rescued by a kindhearted gentleman . He volunteered to take care of her and later adopted her. Upon examination we found that she was paralyzed by her hindlegs and had lost control over her urine. A radiograph was taken, showed reduction in vertebral size,but was inconclusive. A CT scan was then performed which revealed a fracture of the vertebrae and a rotatory subluxation.. With a lesion so severe the prognosis was guarded to poor.
We were requested to start with the treatment and thus we started her on Acupuncture.

With a lesion so severe the recovery was indeed going to be very gradual. She first was able to bear weight on her legs. Then slowly started taking a few steps , then walking with an ataxic/ inco-ordinated  gait . The ataxia then reduced and she was able to walk in a more co-ordinated way.

A Video showing her progress , For all the students interested in Neurological Rehabilitation, this shows a few stages:




 It was a perfect combination of Compassion, Veterinary Care , Pet-parent Compliance  Patience which helped Dewey on her road to recovery.

Veterinary Acupuncture for Hind leg Paralysis - A Squirrel's Tale : AcuMed Veterinary Specialty

Cases come to us in all sizes, perhaps this was the smallest one yet.

Spikee was rescued & brought in to the clinic following an onset of Paralysis of hind limbs,following a trauma . He could neither support his hindlimbs, nor move his tail. Radiological investigations showed up a pathology of the lumbar vertebrae. The referral vet stabilized Spikee from his Spinal shock and was started up on medical therapy.
Saw Spikee after 4 days of initiating the medical therapy. He regained his movement of his tail put still remained  paralyzed by his hind legs.
Spikee then received 2 Acupuncture sessions spaced over 2 weeks and he regained all his neurological deficits and was able to walk again..

Here is a video showing his progress.

Veterinary Acupuncture For Exotic Animals - Bunny Hop : Veterinary Specialty

Preface : 

• Vertebral fracture or dislocation is a very common cause of acute posterior paresis and paralysis in rabbits.
• Rabbits are susceptible to this type of injury because they have relatively powerful hind limb muscles that are attached to quite a light and fragile skeleton.

Spotty , a 4 month old bunny (rabbit) had an acute onset of paraplegia
( hindlimb paralysis) on 25th feb,2012. He was rushed in to the Referral Veterinarian's clinic where he received immediate attention and was stabalized. Radiologic investigation showed a fracture of Lumbar - 6th Vertebrae.
The referral veterinarian designed a body bandage for Spotty, which played an important role in stabilizing his Lumbar region.

lSpotty was referred to me on 27th feb,2012 for an Acupuncture consult. On presentation he was Paraplegic with withdrawal reflex present. Spotty received an Acupuncture treatment session on the same day and concurrent medical therapy continued.

Spotty was re-examined on 10th March,2012. He received his 2nd Acupuncture session on the same day. Now he could now support his hindlimbs, bear weight and hop and play around.

  I would like to thank the referral Veterinarian for the Stabilization and immediate medical attention.