Page 601 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

• ‘Kissing spines’.

• Sacroiliac conditions.
VetBooks.ir • Back pain.

•
Osteoarthritis of the distal tarsal joints (bone spavin).
• Osteoarthritis of the interphalangeal joints (ringbone).

It is particularly useful for treatment of chronic injuries that are slow to heal.

The procedure

The treatment can be painful and noisy, so is usually carried out with the horse sedated. The

coat is clipped and then cleaned to remove any scale or dirt. Alcohol and a coupling gel are
applied. With fine-coated horses it may be possible to treat without clipping.

The appropriate head of the unit will be selected according to the type of injury and the
depth of the injury from the skin surface. The energy settings and number of shocks also

depends on the condition being treated and the type of tissue.

The probe is placed on the skin over the area to be treated. It is gently rocked during
treatment to reduce the possibility of bruising.

Number of treatments

This depends on the type of injury. Most horses receive up to 3 treatments at 2–3 week
intervals. As a general rule, chronic soft tissue and bone lesions usually need higher energy

and shock wave numbers than acute injuries.

Management following treatment

Following shock wave therapy, the horse usually has up to a week of box rest with walking

exercise in hand. This is to ensure that the horse does not over-exert itself and cause further
injury during the initial period of pain relief following the treatment. It is then given a

rehabilitation programme appropriate to the condition being treated.

Adverse reactions

Few adverse reactions have been reported. Occasionally the horse will experience increased

pain following treatment and require non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication for
analgesia. Hair loss or regions of white hair growth are a rare occurrence. Haematomas and