Davood SHARIFI, Fahang SASANI, Jalal BAKHTIARI, Taher REZAEI

The effct of acupuncture therapy on the repair of the calcaneal tendon (tendo calcaneus communis) in dogs

The effect of acupuncture therapy on the healing process of the calcaneal tendon (tendo calcaneus communis) of the dog was evaluated after tendon splitting in 10 adult mixed breed dogs. Complete, full thickness splitting of the right Achilles tendon, 2 cm in length, was performed using a scalpel blade. The dogs were randomly divided into 2 groups (group 1 and 2) of 5 dogs each. The dogs in group 2 were subjected to acupuncture therapy 10 min/day for 2 weeks, starting on postoperative day 3. The acupuncture points used were GB30, BL40, and ST36. No treatment was given to group 1 (controls). Macroscopic and microscopic changes at 60 days showed that the dogs in group 2 had fewer peritendinous adhesions than those in the control group. Microscopically, there were fewer inflammatory cells, no tendonitis was evident, and the regular and parallel arrangement of collagenous fiber bundles of normal thickness of the epitenon and peritenon were observed in group 2. It was concluded that acupuncture, as a physical method of therapy, was quite effective in promoting tendon healing and faster remodeling of collagenous fibers.

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