Veterinarians treating horses with musculoskeletal injuries may prescribe radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy, which uses a mechanical wave generated outside the body to increase the skin's surface temperature over a target muscle.
Focused shockwave therapy, another common type of treatment, uses a focused wave on a specific area to achieve maximum pressure. This type of shockwave treatment can penetrate tissue to twice the depth of radial waves – nearly 4 inches compared with 1 to 1.3 inches in human tissue. Though not nearly as strong, radial shockwave therapy does assist with pain reduction and a reduction in the muscle tone of treated tissue.
Researchers in Poland, led by Dr. Karolina Śniegucka, sought to assess how shockwave therapy affected the surface temperature of the skin covering the longissimus dorsi muscle, which runs under where the saddle sits. The scientists used 24 Thoroughbreds that were between two and three years old. Each was healthy and had similar fitness levels; all were being trained for flat racing.
The horses were divided into two groups; half received the radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy treatment, which lasted about 3.5 minutes, and the other half received a “treatment” of similar length where the probe was not activated.
The horses were examined thermographically and palpated before treatment and just after treatment to determine whether the skin surface temperature over the muscle changed or whether the muscle tone was affected. An additional thermographic exam was done 10 minutes after the treatment.
The scientists found that both groups had an increase in skin surface temperature immediately following the treatment, though the horses receiving treatment had significantly higher skin surface temperature. Both groups also saw a decrease in skin surface temperature to below the initial value 10 minutes after the treatment concluded.
The treatment group also had average muscle tone before the treatment that was significantly higher than just after the shockwave procedure.
The scientists concluded that radial shockwave therapy increases the temperature of the skin surface, indicating an increase in blood flow. It also contributed to a significant reduction in pain sensation and muscle tone in the treated area.
More work is needed to determine the optimum number of shockwave treatments to positively influence back issues long-term, they say.
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