What Is Shockwave Used For In Horses?

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has become a highly accepted technology for treating musculoskeletal problems, soft-tissue injuries and bone injuries in horses. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a method of applying energy waves to hard or soft tissue in a particular area of the body.

What does shockwave do for a horse?

How does extracorporeal shockwave therapy help my horse? Extracorporeal shockwave therapy increases blood flow, increases growth of new blood vessels and increases the production of natural healing factors in the treated area which all result in improved speed and quality of tendon, ligament, bone and wound healing.

What does shockwave therapy treat?

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the body’s natural healing process. It can relieve pain and promote healing of injured tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. It accomplishes this by releasing growth factors in the injured tissue.

How quickly does shockwave work?

How long does it take shockwave therapy to work? From our own experience and the studies on shockwave therapy, most patients will feel a significant clinical benefit in their pain 6 to 8 weeks after treatment.

Does shockwave reduce inflammation?

Shockwave therapy can help reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain by decreasing the release of inflammatory mediators from cells in the treated area. The sound waves cause tiny vibrations in the tissue, which help to break up the inflammatory cells and promote healing.

When should you not use Shockwave?

Shockwave is unsuitable in the following circumstances:

• If you are pregnant.
• If you have a blood clotting disorder (including thrombosis)
• If you are taking oral anti-coagulants.
• If you have received a Steroid injection within 6 weeks.
• If you have a Pacemaker fitted.
• If tumours are present at the treatment site.

How often should you do shockwave therapy horse?

Shockwave is normally administered as a course of treatments. These range from three to five treatments with intervals of 7 to 30 days. The most common protocol is three treatments at two week intervals.

What are the side effects of shockwave therapy?

Side effects from ESWT are limited to mild bruising, swelling, pain, numbness or tingling in the treated area, and the recovery is minimal compared with that of surgical intervention. “Most patients take a day or two off after treatment but don’t require a prolonged recovery period,” says Dr. Finnoff.

What should you not do after shockwave?

What should I do if I am in pain after the treatment? The shockwave will trigger an inflammatory response, which is the body’s natural process of healing. For this reason, do not use anti-inflammatory medications.

What is the success rate of shockwave therapy?

Current Shockwave Research
Double-blind, randomized, controlled studies, indicate up to 91% improvement with 84% success rate for numerous conditions. Shockwave therapy is a proven effective treatment supported by medical literature.

Can shockwave damage nerves?

Shockwave therapy uses waves that are both positive and negative. Either of these types of waves have the potential to do damage to nerve stimulators and other types of implanted devices. The waves can cause unwanted effects and equipment failure.

How often can you do shockwave?

Most patients require three sessions of shockwave therapy, each a week apart, before significant pain relief is noticed. Some conditions may require five treatments. Your specialist will be able to discuss your particular case and expectations with you.

Does shockwave work straight away?

As a manual treatment, it may take some time for the results of Shockwave Therapy to become apparent. While some patients report feeling immediate pain relief following treatment, others may require several weeks to experience any significant pain-relieving results.

Can shockwave damage kidneys?

On the downside SWL can cause vascular trauma to the kidney and surrounding organs. This acute SW damage can be severe, can lead to scarring with a permanent loss of functional renal volume, and has been linked to potentially serious long-term adverse effects.

Is shockwave good for arthritis?

[Conclusion] extracorporeal shock wave therapy may be a useful nonsurgical intervention for reducing the pain of patients with degenerative knee arthritis and improving these patients’ function.

Why was shockwave discontinued?

Why is Adobe discontinuing the Shockwave player? As technologies evolve and the use of mobile devices has grown, interactive content has moved to platforms such as HTML5 Canvas and Web GL and usage of Shockwave has declined.

Can shockwave therapy damage bones?

Many studies reported intensive osteochondrogenesis in segmental femoral defects after shockwave treatment, but no shockwave-induced crack or micro-damage was noted on bone [27], [28], [29].

How successful is shockwave therapy in horses?

In one study researchers reported that 79% of horses diagnosed with bone spavin (A form of Hock Arthritis) had an improved lameness score following ESWT. In another study they reported successfully treating chronic suspensory disease in 80% of affected horses after only three ESWT sessions.

How much does shock wave therapy cost for horses?

Most body sites require between 1000 and 1500 pulses (waves) per treatment session and between two and three sessions at 2 week intervals. Based on an average billing structure nationwide, most veterinarians charge about $0.3 to $0.4 per pulse or $300 to $400 per thousand pulse session.

What does shockwave therapy cost?

Shockwave Therapy Cost
The out-of-pocket cost for each treatment is between $400 and $500. Your urologist will discuss these costs and other options with you before deciding the best course for treatment.

Why does shockwave therapy hurt so much?

The reason is that shock waves cause micro-traumas and bursting of microtissues (bone, tendons, and muscles) in order to generate blood flow and stimulate cell regeneration. Then, both traumas and recovering tissues might be the responsible for the engendered pain.