HYDROTHERAPY FOR TENDON INJURY

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wjgfred

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Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help. My horse has been diagnosed with tendon injury and is currently on field rest.

I am interested in hydrotherapy for him when the time is right, but having researched it I am a bit confused.

It appears there are swimming pools, spas and water treadmills and I am not sure which is the best.

Does anyone have experience of this for DDFT tear or can anyone who has had hydrotherapy put me in touch with anyone that can send me some info.

thanks for any help you can give.
 
Sorry to hear about your horses tendon injury and I cant help you regarding hydrotherapy treatment but Im sure someone else on the forum can. Where exactly is the tear in the DDFT and did you see the size of the tear on the scan? Dont know if it would be applicable in this case depending on the injury, but there has been much success in stem-cell implants. My girl is going in for her implant on Friday.

Jet_Set, Silmarillion and many more on here should be able to help.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. My boy has a very serious injury of a core lesion progressing to a sagittal plane split and I have been quoted only a 30 per cent chance of getting him back into full work. All his injuries are in the hoof capsule so alot of the therapies are out as they cant get to it.

However he is currently out in the field for 16 hours a day and is sound in straight line in walk and trot and not tested in a circle.

This being on month 2 of 12 months of rest. My vet has suggested hydrotherapy before he comes back into work, I think the thought being that he can get working without the concussive pressures. I just wanted to start looking at this (although it wont be yet). But it appears there are spas, pools and treadmills and I just wondered if anyone had experience of any of them for this type of injury.

I did post about his injury a little while ago and some of the people you have mentioned have helped with sharing their experiences.

thanks again
 
Also in relation to the stem cell therapy, I would be interested to know how you get on. I did read up a bit on it and it seemed that this had to be done fairly early on.

My horse was initially diagnosed with foot bruising, so I missed the early crutial time.

Will keep my fingers crossed for yours too - Good luck
 
Hi,

I would suggest that as treatment for a tendon injury you want to go for a hydrotherapy spa as opposed to a pool or a treadmill. The spa is not for exercise whereas the others are. If you have a weakness in the tendon then the last thing you would want to do is ask it to work extra hard ie through water.

What area are you in?
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I am in south wales.

I am trying to look at this from two sides. I am not sure whether any hydrotherapy would help now when the tendon is being rested to try to help with repair.

Secondly my vet has mentioned it in connection with
just before my horse comes back into work (this is a while away yet but I like to do my research and it keeps me thinking positive !!). I think he is going along the lines of exercise but without the concussion before we start walk work.
 
I am ringing a rehabilitation centre this week for my boy who use hydrotherapy. Part of my gelding's problem is damage to the annular ligament and I too am wondering if hydrotherapy can help.

Would also be interested in anyone's experiences.
 
Sure, will do.
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Blackhawk- I spoke with chiropractisoner, today and she fully recommends water treadmill which she believes should be done around the time when my horse has had six months rest.

She is going to speak to my vets to get a fuller picture first and also to discuss whether he should have weekly sessions over a longer time or go for 2 weeks of sessions on each day.

Will update you when I have the fuller answers.

She is fully qualified.
 
Okay, so now I'm completely confused again. I have read some of the rehab sites that do hydrotherapy and they dont seem to fit in with what the chiropractisoner is telling me at all.

They seem to be saying that spa is for acute phase, which I have missed due to wrong diagnosis in the beginning. But they then seem to say that the water treadmill is used after ridden walk work has begun.

Dont know what to think now!!

COMPLETELY CONFUSED!!!!
 
Right, I'm no expert but I'll tell you what I believe.
Spas - involve bubbling or streaming cool water at the horse's legs whilst standing still.
Cold water treatments and icepacks etc (not directly applied) are generally recommended in the first few days after injury, to minimise swelling and damage.
The cold water causes the blood vessels to contract, after a period of time, this then results in dilation of the vessels which increases circulation and speeds up healing (in the same way that your face feels hot after you come in from playing in the snow), and the water bubbling/streaming has a massaging effect.
Swimming pools - used to exercise the horse's respiratory system, and muscles, as well as the circulatory system. Non-weight bearing so unlikely to make injury worse - might be useful to keep the rest of the horse functioning whilst the leg heals, as well as improving circulation.
Water treadmills - often also have spa function. They involve a treadmill underwater which typically goes at walk to trot speeds (not usually faster). The weight bearing is directly related to the depth of the water used - which can be varied. If the water is midway up the horse's shoulders, then he will be floating more....if only to knees, then his limbs will bear more weight. The depth of the water also influences the way the horse moves his limbs - when deep, he tends to bring his limbs forwards whilst keeping them fairly straight. When shallow, he tends to step over the water by flexing knee, hock joints etc more (again, think how you move through different water heights at the beach).
Water treadmills are very useful for bringing horses back to soundness after tendon injury, whilst providing some weight support.
Basically, if you intend to use any of these forms of therapy, you should do so under veterinary advice, with reference to the tendon scans as indicators of progress. Your vet should be able to refer you to an appropriate therapy centre, who will have expertise in this area - and it might be worth going to visit the centre now, and asking all your questions to them...by appointment obviously
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Hope this helps.
S
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Thank you very much for your reply, that now makes sense.

I wouldnt do anything without my vets approval. I am just trying to research at the moment. My vet does not seem to be able to recommend where to go to me, although it has only been mentioned in passing at the moment. As we have missed the stage where spa would help and he has another 10 months of field rest to go yet!!

We would not be able to scan though as his injury is all in the hoof capsule and only MRI can view. At £1,000 a time I cannot repeatidly have these done to monitor.

Thank you for your reply
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you very much for your reply, that now makes sense.

I wouldnt do anything without my vets approval. I am just trying to research at the moment. My vet does not seem to be able to recommend where to go to me, although it has only been mentioned in passing at the moment. As we have missed the stage where spa would help and he has another 10 months of field rest to go yet!!

We would not be able to scan though as his injury is all in the hoof capsule and only MRI can view. At £1,000 a time I cannot repeatidly have these done to monitor.

Thank you for your reply

[/ QUOTE ]

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It was just my disclaimer so you wouldn't sue me if his legs fell off
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I appreciate the costs involved are a bit steep.
If your vet doesn't know a good therapy centre, it might be worth contacting your largest local equine specialist vets - they are bound to know somewhere relatively local.
If you are really interested, there are lots of books on equine injury and therapy, too - have a hunt on Amazon.
S
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Hi again (and thanks I think!!). Believe my nearest is Hartpury college and they have web site, so will contact them and ask for advice.

I keep meaning to go to Amazon (book site not the place) and have a look for books on tendon injury, rehab and can now look for hydro as well. Just really want to get this right to give my boy the best chance.

Oh and promise not to sue if his leg drops off (and now you have it in writing!!)

Thanks again
 
Hi, there's a spa at the yard I am at. I know the owner often has race horses and eventers in for sessions, have a look at her web site anyway as it gives information on what's involved. A few of the liveries have used it and said it's really helped with horses with tendon/ligament injuries etc. Hope it helps!

http://www.equinespa.co.uk
 
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