Electrophysical Therapies for the Equine Athlete

Carrie Schlachter; Courtney Lewis

doi:10.1016/j.cveq.2015.12.011

Electrophysical Therapies for the Equine Athlete

Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2016 Apr;32(1):127-47. doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2015.12.011.

Authors

Carrie Schlachter¹, Courtney Lewis²

Affiliations

¹ Circle Oak Equine Sports Medicine, Petaluma, CA, USA. Electronic address: carrieschlachter@gmail.com.
² Circle Oak Equine Sports Medicine, Petaluma, CA, USA.

PMID: 27012509
DOI: 10.1016/j.cveq.2015.12.011

Abstract

A good rehabilitation program takes into account the possible causes for the injury. Once the underlying cause of the injury is determined, a veterinarian can construct an appropriate rehabilitation plan and use the available electrophysical therapies to their greatest effect. Treating the horse correctly for the type and location of injury, and the stage of rehabilitation of the tissue, helps ensure full rehabilitation success. This article discusses when and how to use the most common electrophysical therapies in horses including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, functional electric stimulation, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy, shockwave therapy, and vibration therapy.

Keywords: Electrophysical therapies; Equine athlete; Rehabilitation; Treatment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Horse Diseases / therapy*
Horses
Physical Therapy Modalities / instrumentation
Physical Therapy Modalities / veterinary*