Volume: 56 Issue: 2
Year: 2025, Page: 247-254, Doi: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2025.56.2.247-254
Received: Nov. 1, 2024 Accepted: Jan. 17, 2025 Published: June 30, 2025
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes remarkable loss of neurological function in dogs. Many therapeutic studies have been conducted, aiming to improve overall function which invariably includes physical rehabilitation. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as an adjunct therapy for SCI in dogs. The present study used a multimodal approach, aiming to ameliorate neurological recovery. The study was conducted on twelve dogs of different age, breed, sex and body weight, presented with clinical signs of SCI. Clinical, neurological and radiographical investigations were made on the day of presentation for localising the lesions. The dogs were randomly divided into two groups Group I and II. Group I was treated with single dose of methyl prednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) and two doses of polyethylene glycol (PEG) at 48 hours interval intravenously, followed by oral administration of prednisolone while the other group, received TENS therapy for 10 days in addition to the protocol in Group I. All the selected dogs were subjected to clinical and neurological examinations at regular intervals up to eight weeks to assess the efficacy of the treatment employed. All the parameters of clinical and neurological examinations were given grades and scored individually and comparison was made between two groups from the day of presentation to the end of the study. Clinical recovery, neurological grading and the time of recovery were taken into consideration to analyse the efficacy of both treatment protocols. Based on the results of clinical and neurological examination, TENS group was more effective than the group without physiotherapy.
Keywords: Spinal cord injury, neurological examination, TENS, physiotherapy
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Preethi, S., Soumya Ramankutty, Syam K. Venugopal, John Martin, K. D., Reji Varghese and Sumena, K. B. 2024. The efficacy of TENS in restoration of early sensory and motor responses in canine spinal cord injury. J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 56 (2):247-254