Equine Health
Equipment & Technology
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)
We have added extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to our practice. Historically, horses suffering from chronic pain and lameness had to undergo lengthy and cumbersome treatment regimens that usually involved prolonged medication, lay-up time and sometimes surgical intervention. Often these therapies produced unsatisfactory results. Shockwave therapy constitutes a new modality for dealing with refractory conditions. Shockwaves are high-energy sound waves which are transmitted to the affected body part. In human medicine, shockwave treatment has been performed for over 25 years to treat a number of urologic and orthopedic conditions in a non-invasive manner. In equine medicine, shockwave therapy is highly effective for the management of a variety of musculoskeletal disorders such as:
- Tendon and ligament injuries
- Navicular disease
- Back muscle soreness
- Muscle tears and sprains
- Arthritic conditions
Shockwave therapy is normally done on an outpatient basis. The horse usually requires only mild sedation and can remain standing comfortably throughout the procedure. Treatment usually takes 10-20 minutes. A significant improvement is achieved in the majority of cases and results generally show within days to weeks, depending on the underlying condition. In some cases it may be necessary to repeat the treatment several times. One of the main applications for shockwave therapy is decreasing healing time, and for horses in training or show horses, this means recovering from an injury quickly and getting back to into work faster with a smaller chance of recurrence.
If you want more information on shockwave therapy or have questions on whether this treatment would benefit your horse, please contact us.
