Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse joint injection with CMC hydrogel to reduce osteoarthritis
By Rinnovati, R et al.·Published in Journal of equine veterinary science·2025·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences University of Bologna, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of an intra-articular carboxymethylcellulose crosslinked hydrogel in horses with osteoarthritis.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A group of 30 sport horses with lameness caused by osteoarthritis in their front legs received either a new hydrogel treatment or a common steroid and joint fluid injection. After 90 days, 75% of the horses treated with the hydrogel showed significant improvement in their lameness, while only 7% of those receiving the steroid and joint fluid did. Although the hydrogel took longer to show results, it provided a more lasting improvement compared to the other treatment. This suggests that the hydrogel could be a beneficial option for managing joint pain in horses with osteoarthritis.
People also search for: horse lameness treatment · osteoarthritis in horses · hydrogel for horse joints · corticosteroid injection for horse arthritis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Numerous treatment strategies have been proposed to manage osteoarthritis (OA) in sport horses. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), is used in veterinary medicine for various purposes. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a CMC hydrogel in reducing clinical lameness in horses with OA affecting joint. The hypothesis was that intra-articular CMC would produce a sustained reduction in lameness compared to a control treatment. METHODS: Thirty client-owned horses diagnosed with OA-related lameness in the metacarpophalangeal joint were enrolled. Horses were randomly assigned to two groups: the treated group (n = 16) received a single intra-articular injection of CMC hydrogel (3 ml/joint); the control group (n = 14) received 12 mg/joint of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and 20 mg/joint of hyaluronic acid (HA). Lameness was evaluated at baseline and at 15, 30, and 90 days using a standardized AAEP scoring system. Treatment success was defined as a reduction of at least one lameness grade without additional therapy. Statistical analysis included the Kruskal-Wallis test and Chi-Square test; significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: At 90 days, 12/16 horses (75%) in the treated group achieved success (mean score 1.3 ± 0.6), compared to 1/14 horses (7.1%) in the control group (mean reduction 0.2 ± 0.4; P = 0.001). At 15 days, 3/15 CMC horses (20%) improved vs. 13/14 controls (90%). At 30 days, success was 75% in both groups. CONCLUSION: Intra-articular administration of CMC hydrogel provided a delayed but longer-lasting improvement in lameness compared to corticosteroid and HA treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40398596/