Adjunctive acupuncture improves postoperative pain control and early functional recovery after stifle joint surgery in dogs: a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Postoperative pain management remains a major challenge in canine orthopedic surgery. Although acupuncture has demonstrated analgesic effects in both human and veterinary medicine, high-quality clinical evidence in dogs remains limited. This study evaluated whether adjunctive acupuncture could improve postoperative pain control and early functional recovery in dogs undergoing stifle joint surgery. Results: Dogs receiving adjunctive acupuncture showed significantly lower CMPS-SF scores at 12 h and 48 h postoperatively, lower CSU-CAPS scores at 24 h, and lower joint manipulation scores at 3 h compared with controls (P < 0.05). Significant improvements were also observed in changes in stifle circumference at T48–T0 and ROM at T72–T0 (P < 0.05). No significant differences were detected in lameness scores or serum β‑endorphin concentrations. Only one dog in the acupuncture group required rescue analgesia. No acupuncture-related adverse events were observed. Conclusions: Adjunctive acupuncture may improve postoperative pain management and early functional recovery in dogs undergoing stifle joint surgery when combined with multimodal analgesia. Acupuncture appears to be a safe complementary intervention for perioperative pain management in veterinary clinical practice.