Acupuncture
Several prospective clinical studies have evaluated outcome ofdogs treatedforOAwithacupuncture. Hielm–Bjorkman etalconductedadoubleblindstudyin38dogswithHDand OA randomly assigned to receive either gold wire inserted at acupuncture points or sham treatment (skin pierced at nonacupuncture points).21 Dogs were evaluated prospec-tivelybeforeand4,12,and24weeksaftertreatment.Veteri-narians assessed dogs for pain, lameness, and joint range of motion.Ownerscompletedquestionnaires7timesthrough-out the study, evaluating their dog’s pain, behavior, and functional abilities. Results failed to show a statistically sig-nificantimprovementindogstreatedwithgoldwireimplan-tation, and a placebo effect was noticed with both owners and veterinarians reporting improvement in 50–60% of the sham-treated dogs.