Osteoarthritis in Horses

When broken down, osteoarthritis simply means the degeneration (or ‘wear and tear’) of a joint. This causes varying degrees of pain and inflammation within the joint, and can also cause compensatory issues such as muscular adaptations and altered gait patterns. It is estimated that up to 60% of lameness seen in horses is due to osteoarthritis, and it is one of the most common causes of poor performance and early retirement.

Currently, there are several different veterinary treatment options to control the pain and inflammation caused by OA, such as corticosteroid injections, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), stem-cell therapy and polyacrylamide gel injections. The majority of vets recommend physiotherapy treatment for horses with osteoarthritis to help manage the symptoms and ensure the horse is as comfortable as possible. These treatments would initially aim to reduce the pain and inflammation within the joint, perhaps through the use of electrotherapies such as LASER. Once the local pain and inflammation are under control, we would start thinking about restoring joint range of motion and muscular flexibility and subsequently return the horse to its previous level of work.

If you are interested in finding out more about how physiotherapy treatment could help your horse, please get in touch, I am more than happy to help!

Ellie x