Species: dog
Breed: mixed Labrador
Gender: spayed female
Age: 15 YO
Name: Lexi
Clinical case:
Lexi was suffering from progressive palsy in the hind limb when she came for treatment. About nine months previously she could walk around the block, but now she could only reach the backyard with assistance. Two years ago, Lexi also had a torn right anterior cruciate.
During the same period, her owner noted that Lexi held her head angled to the right. The dog’s clinical condition was worsening, with progressive weakness in the hind limbs, difficulty in standing and walking, and periodic collapse. Even her sight and hearing had worsened. The dog only slept in right lateral recumbency.
Lexy was panting, sitting, with her right hind limb rigidly folded under her, and could not rise. Her head was angled to the right and she swayed it from left to right as she tried to keep her balance while standing.
A muscular-skeletal exam showed that Lexi had extreme lumbar kyphosis, with atrophy of the supra/infraspinatous and gluteal muscles. She showed signs of pain when the adductors, quadratum lumborum and the pectineous were palpated. Myofascial trigger points were found bilaterally in the shoulders, gluteals and L2-L3 (acupoint for tendons and ligaments). She held her right hind limb under her body, in an unsuitable position for maintaining balance. She often fell to the right because she unknowingly crossed the limb in extension.
Lexi could not rise without assistance for most of the tests, and attempts at walking quickly caused her to become weak and tired.
A neurological exam revealed normal proprioception in both front limbs, significantly delayed in the left and absent in the right.
Therapy:
- MLS® Laser Therapy with acupuncture for 4 weeks.
- After 3 weeks of pain control with MLS® Laser Therapy and acupuncture, assisted hydrotherapy and physiotherapy were started to improve the proprioception and neurological dysfunction.
After positioning the acupuncture needles, MLS® Laser Therapy was used directly on them at a distance of 20 cm.
Result: an incredible improvement!
After treatment, Lexi got up, went into the living room and followed her owner into the kitchen, walking without dragging her paw. She began to cross her right hind limb slightly in extension but quickly corrected the wrong position, walking over tiles without slipping or falling. The hind legs were held open to improve balance. Lexi now held her tail high and wagged it, while before therapy she had held it down and between her legs.
Two days later, the owner informed that Lexi had slept almost the whole day subsequent to treatment (expected tiredness) while in the evening she wanted to run and jump onto the bed.
The owner had not seen this level of activity in more than two years.
Lexi was more lively, more alert, her appetite had improved and she panted less.
Thanks to Dr. Suzanne Plamondon, Integrative Veterinary Care & Canine Rehabilitation, Inc. - Florida, USA
