Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Does acupuncture help treat laminitis in horses?
By Fikri F et al.·2025·Department of Health and Life Sciences·View original on Europe PMC →
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Original publication title: Effectiveness of acupuncture for equine laminitis: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Recent research looked into whether acupuncture can help horses suffering from laminitis, a painful condition affecting their hooves. After reviewing several studies, the findings suggest that acupuncture can improve the lameness scores of affected horses, meaning they may move better and feel less pain. Specifically, when acupuncture was given twice a week for four weeks, it showed a positive effect on recovery. This study supports the idea that acupuncture could be a useful treatment option for horses with laminitis. Overall, the treatment appears to work well for improving lameness in these horses.
Abstract
<h4>Background and aim</h4>In the past 20 years, acupuncture has been utilized as an alternative therapy for equine laminitis despite a lack of clinical evidence to support its effectiveness. Information from previous studies needs to be evaluated holistically to verify the effectiveness of acupuncture. This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for laminitis in horses.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>A total of 7 studies out of 145 were selected in the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest databases using the keywords "equine laminitis," "acupuncture," "horses," and "lameness score." Articles were selected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis flow diagram, and the extracted data were analyzed using OpenMEE software to determine Hedges' d effect size and Log Odds Ratio.<h4>Results</h4>As a result, this meta-analysis study reported that acupuncture improves horses with laminitis (Odds Ratio = 2.254; 95% CI = 1.167-4.355) and has a favorable effect on lameness scores (mean difference = -5.008; 95% CI = -8.094--1.923).<h4>Conclusion</h4>This meta-analysis enhanced the clinical studies demonstrating that twice-weekly acupuncture performed for 4 weeks consecutively can ameliorate lameness scores and a horse's potential for recovery. These investigations have led to the implementation of dry needling, hemo-acupuncture, aqua-acupuncture, and electroacupuncture as alternate treatments for equine laminitis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Europe PMC: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/40041523