Can Electrical Therapy Ease Pain in Dogs After Spinal Surgery?

Guest authors:

Lizeth Montaño, MVZ Esp., Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident and Jennifer Repac, DVM, DACVSMR (Canine)

From:

Integrative & Mobility Medicine at University of Florida-Small Animal Hospital, Gainesville, FL, USA

A new study from the University of Florida explored whether interferential current therapy (IFC), a type of electrical stimulation, could help dogs feel more comfortable after surgery for a ruptured spinal disc.

The study

20 dogs were given three IFC sessions of 20-minutes each and monitored over a 24 hour period.

What they did

Half the dogs received standard pain medication and IFC, a gentle electrical current applied near the surgical site. The other half received standard pain medication and a sham treatment. Researchers tracked pain scores, opioid use, and sensitivity to pressure at three points during the first 24 hours.

What they found

At the mid-recovery check (around 8–18 hours post-op), IFC-treated dogs had noticeably lower pain scores. But this benefit didn’t show up at the earliest or latest check-ins, and it didn’t reduce how much pain medication the dogs needed overall.

The bottom line

IFC may offer a short window of added comfort as the initial anesthesia wears off but appears not to be a replacement for pain medication. Researchers say larger studies are needed before it becomes a routine recommendation.

Link to article : https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/10/1452

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Lizeth Montano -@lizimontano