Equine Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT)
Motion Equine's innovative medical technologies and integrative sports medicine approach provides veterinary services that enable equine athletes to function at their optimal performance levels. Utilizing shock wave therapy, Dr. Pedersen can effectively stimulate the healing process for a variety of soft tissue, bone and joint injuries.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive treatment that has been scientifically proven to alleviate pain, improve lameness associated with osteoarthritis, and speed the recovery of wounds and other injuries that affect the mobility and overall health of your horse.
How Does Shock Wave Therapy Work?
Working from outside the body (extracorporeal), the machine generates intense shock or pressure waves, which are pulsed at the site of injury to accelerate the healing process. The shock waves create instant pain relief by reducing inflammation, encouraging new blood vessels in soft tissue (neovascularization), and can help new bone formation (osteogenesis). By increasing new blood flow to the area of injury, the body's self-healing process is triggered.
Shock waves penetrate fluid and soft tissue, effecting the site where bone and soft tissue meet. The force of these waves can help physically break down or move a hematoma or remove fluid from a lesion to allow fibroblasts to quickly remedy the defect.
Does Equine Shock Wave Therapy Work?
Research has proven that ESWT is an effective therapy for decreasing the clinical signs of lameness attributed to osteoarthritis. One study compared horses treated with a common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug vs ESWT. ESWT performed better, encouraging improvement in clinical lameness and increasing synovial fluid total protein.
Scientific studies have confirmed the effectiveness of focused shockwaves for various common musculoskeletal conditions as well as trigger point diagnosis and treatment. ESWT is one of the few medical technologies which can treat chronic pain syndromes of the musculoskeletal system by effectively jumpstarting the self-healing processes.
Motion Equine's ESWT Services
Motion Equine's veterinary services bring shock wave therapy to your stable or training facility. Dr. Pedersen's mobile unit is fully equipped to bring state of the art technology and performance medicine to your horse for your convenience.
If you would like to learn more about shockwave therapy or book an appointment, please contact us.
