Background and Objective: Because of the anatomical differences between humans and canines, it has been difficult to apply the human Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA) neck diagnostic points to canines directly. The 12 human YNSA neck diagnostic points are related to the 12 meridians, but this relationship remains unclear in canines. Previous research performed in 2019 explored the relationship between affected cervical points and their treating points in lumbar/caudal vertebrae. This research was performed in 2022 to investigate minutely the preceding result.
Method: The trunks of 32 canine patients with disk disease were palpated minutely and then treated with acupuncture needles. Each patient was treated every week in the beginning and later every 2–6 weeks. After observing the relationship between the affected neck points and their treating points through research, the method was applied to other canines with disk disease to confirm the relationship and the effectiveness of the method.
Result: Canine basic points on the scalp were considered on the several meridians; i.e., Basic A points were located on the governing vessel (GV) meridian, Basic B points on the bladder (BL) meridian, and Basic C and D points on the gall bladder (GB) meridian. When a basic canine point on the scalp and an affected point on the neck were simultaneously active, both of them were considered to be on the same meridian vertically. On the other hand, canine cervical 7 vertebrae, lumber 7 vertebrae, and caudal 7 vertebrae were correlated horizontally. Interestingly, effective treating points generally showed as a “minute fibrous structure in the lump,” which was considered as part of “fascia.” When needles were put into the minute fibrous structures, the effect was observed.
Cases: Three canine cases with disk disease, who were treated with the abovementioned method, are shown as examples.
Conclusion and Consideration: The neck diagnostic points in canines differed from those in humans, but a new relationship between basic/neck points and meridians was suggested. The characteristic feature of treating points, i.e., minute fibrous structures in the lumps, was not the same as that in the general acupoints in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This research may be helpful in understanding the relationship between YNSA, TCM, and fascia.
