Muscle fasciculations & cervical disc disease

[lehughes]

Hi Laurie,
I have an 11 yr old Maltese patient with severe cervical disc disease, he had an MRI done but was not a surgical candidate due to age and seizure history. He is on Gabapentin, Tramadol, Carprofen and Kepra which seems to be keeping him comfortable. He is an anxious mess and barks and throws his head back at the slightest thing, which I am sure adds to his problem. His owner faithfully uses TENS and massage and he comes in for Laser and comfort therapy about every 2 weeks or more if he seems uncomfortable. He had a setback when the owner went out of town for a week and has developed muscle fasciculations right around C6-C7. I have Lasered and attempted trigger point massage to alleviate the problem but am not having much success. Do you have any suggestions besides acupuncture that you think would work?
I look forward to hearing back from you.
G.

[lehughes]

Hi G.

So, firstly, I’d try everything conservative before considering surgery anyways.
My treatment attempts would be mobilizations (anything non-painful), traction (only if tolerated), HIGH HIGH doses of laser, alpha-stim ear clips, PEMF, and home program of small ROM cookie exercises.
Yes to acupuncture (as / if available).
I’ve found that with both humans and dogs, massage doesn’t work with disc lesion muscle pain.
When acute, they seem to do best / better with weekly or even twice a week therapy.
And expect recovery, not just maintenance!

All the best!

Laurie