My dog was just diagnosed with IVDD. He’s on Carprofen, Gabapentin and Trazodone but not responding well to meds. While researching treatment options I came across the Assisi Loop. I am aware of magna wave therapy for horses but this was new to me for dogs. My insurance won’t cover it. Crazy because they will cover a $2000+ MRI. Just wanted to see if anyone has tried this and what kind of results were seen. Thank You! Here is the link.
I suggest you join the Facebook group, Dodger’s List. It’s for owners of dogs with IVDD and has tons of information.
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I was going to try this for my big 15 yr. Old Rott/ Pit, but found ICES-PEMF. It costs more, but you use rechargeable batteries. The Loop just wears out over time.
My dog had lost the use of her back legs, and the ICES device gradually gave her those legs back. I used it 4 hrs. a day and saw results in 3 days. She walks fine now; she doesn’t run anymore, but she’s old. She gets up off of the floor on her own and can balance to go to the bathroom. No more standing behind her holding her up dodging whatever was coming out of her at the time.
This was a last resort and I’m happy to say she’s still with us and using all her legs. We do the ICES every 3 or 4 days or when she seems to need it, like if her legs are a bit shaky.
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Nice to see new treatment options! When my girl dog suffered with IVDD the meds, Accupuncture, and PT did not work well enough. We then tried epidural injections. Unfortunately, they didn’t work either and she ended up having surgery (twice - different locations) That did work.
I used an Assisi Loop on my good old Boxer and he responded well to it. He had a very weak back end due to Cushing’s disease. I am not generally into “woo woo” medicine but his response to acupuncture and the Assisi Loop were quite remarkable and may have swayed me quite a bit from that time on. I certainly have an open mind on less Western approaches to this day.
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PEMF has been increasingly popular - but I’m unsure how many people know that there is PEMF and then there is tPEMF (like the assisi loop) and the difference in treatment capabilities between the two. I have used tPEMF for my animals with great success - here is one article if you want to understand more.
Laser is also a fantastic option- look for a true Class 4 “cold” laser - and someone who knows how to use it correctly. I’m most familiar with the MLS Cutting Edge one but there are others. I’ve known many IVDD dogs that do very well on that.
Thank You all! I’ve been given some great information here! This dog really has no predisposition for IVDD. He’s a 10 yr old ,45 lb rat terrier mix. Fairly high energy. We typically leash walk about 1.5 miles 3-4 times / week. Once or twice a week we do walk off leash at the farm about 2.5 miles. Of course the dogs probably run twice that! At home they have a dog door and free roam of about half an acre. His housemate is a clumsy 5yr old pibble mix who thinks he weighs 6 lbs. They adore each other but the larger dog has knocked him off his feet in play. The only indication something was NQR was he began sitting periodically on walks and turning to look at his backside. Checked his anal glands and they were fine. Last Tuesday a.m. he wasn’t his normal OCD self taking toys outside when I opened the dog door and just seemed “worried”. My vet saw him, bloodwork was all WNL, he showed some pain response in his back, X-rays showed some narrowing between L 2&3. He was started on the Carprofen and Gabapentin. No walks and I kept the dog door closed. He really showed no discomfort until Wednesday afternoon. He was clingy, pawing at me, restless and panting. We added a mid-day Gabapentin dose and Trazodone to relax him to rest. He only needed one dose of Trazodone. He is responding to meds and has been his normal self. I just worry about what the future holds for him and hate to think life as he knew it is over.
4-5 years ago, one of my equine vets recommended the Assisi Loop specifically as a well made and researched PEMF device. I’ve been pleased – used it on horses, dogs, self, hubby. It does seem to help. Hasn’t died yet, although we don’t use it super often. However, my favorite alternate treatment modality is therapeutic ultrasound, which has never had the popularity of laser or PEMF, but speaking as a patient, U/S has helped me most both with surgical site recovery and with orthopedic strains/injury. But again, my experience with the Assisi Loop is very positive – it’s very user friendly.
No advice on this particular treatment but here’s my broken record recommendations for any disk issues. 1. Find a neurologist and go see them, even if it’s a few hours away they can do SO much more than any regular vet. Think of it like going to the lameness specialist when your horse is lame. You may need stronger meds such as prednisone but the neurologist is going to have the best recommendation. 2. Rest and I mean true rest. No running playing or jumping. We had to cover our house with ramps because any jump up or down can be catastrophic. When our dog is painful from a disk event it’s 24/7 crate rest for as long as the neurologist says. It feels mean and sucks for everyone but it’s really the only option for the spine to heal. Dodgers list on fb is really helpful for this. 3. I found that acupuncture and an infrared light therapy pad helped. The light pad was a couple hundred dollars
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What Stargzng386 said. Crate rest is vital for at least 2 weeks.
