Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse's leg swelling worsened after shock wave therapy - what to do?
By Diakakis, N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine·2005·Department of Clinical Studies·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Osseous lesion of the calcaneus following the use of shock wave therapy in a horse.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding was brought in for lameness in his right hind leg due to a soft tissue injury. After receiving shock wave therapy to help with scar tissue, his lameness actually worsened, and new bone growth was detected on X-rays. To address this, a special blister treatment was applied to the area. Twenty days later, the swelling decreased by half, and the horse's lameness improved significantly. Six months after the treatment, he remained stable and showed no signs of lameness during a follow-up exam.
People also search for: horse lameness treatment · shock wave therapy for horses · blister treatment for horse injury
Abstract
An 8-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding was presented with a mechanical lameness (2/10) because of the presence of a soft tissue injury on the top of the right tuber calcanei. Plain radiographs of the tarsus demonstrated the presence of soft tissue swelling caudal to the right tuber calcanei, without osseous involvement, and ultrasonography revealed excessive scar tissue within and around the superficial digital flexor tendon. Extra-corporeal shock wave therapy was applied on the right hock to decrease the amount of scar tissue. One month after the therapy the lameness was greater (3/10) and a marginal increase in the size of the swelling was found. Periosteal new bone formation associated with an ill-defined radiolucent area and two bony fragments were detected radiographically at the caudo-proximal aspect of the right tuber calcanei. A blister containing oil of croton, camphor, pine and thyme, turpentine and cantharides was applied on the right calcaneus. Twenty days after blister application, the size of the swelling had been reduced by 50% and the degree of lameness had also been decreased (1/10). On clinical re-evaluation 6 months after treatment, the degree of lameness was stable (1/10) and flexion test of the limb was negative.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16268962/