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Why Equine Therapy Is So
Effective 
"The right treatment works
because it has to work. The wrong treatment
doesn't work because it can't work." - Jack
Meagher
There are many types of
non-mechanical therapeutic modalities. These include Manual
Therapy, Sports Massage, Myofascial Release, Trigger Point,
Neuromuscular, Deep Tissue, Gua-Sha, etc.
It's always better and less
expensive to prevent injury than to treat
it!
To understand more about what
other therapeutic modalities can and can't do, and why they
cannot treat muscle problems to the same degree and benefit as ET,
see our discussion below on Heat, Ice, Electric Stimulation, Magnetic Therapy,
Muscle Relaxants, Chiropractic, and Rest. In the meantime, here's what ET
can do:
Benefits
Clinical studies have shown
manual therapies are effective for human patients.
We would be remiss to omit that though studies are being
conducted in several countries around the world involving
animals, there is currently no clinical, double blind, documented
proof of any of the following claims as it relates to
animals. Yet just because something has not yet been
proven according to strictly interpreted, Western evidenced based
protocols, does not mean that such therapies are ineffective.
You have only to see the difference post-therapy in your
animal. So we share the following with you as examples of
the positive effects on horses attributed to this therapy by
horseowners, trainers, and veterinarians on an anecdotal
basis.
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Maintains horse's
working ability for longer periods through
wellness
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Does not mask
symptoms, but corrects muscle-related problems by
directly treating them
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Increases venal and lymphatic
circulation
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Improves respiratory, digestive, immune, and
neural systems
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Reduces
stress levels in the horse, both physical and
psychological
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Improves
concentration and enhances learning ability
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Improves carriage
and gait
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Prevents injury
(saving you $$$)
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Reduces recovery time from injury
and illness
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Enhances
performance without medication and inherent
side-effects
- Alleviates pain and
soreness from strenuous training
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Improves horse's
quality of
life
Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Electric Stim, Heat,
Ice, Magnets, Rest
"Don't they all do the same thing for the
animal?"
Equine Nervous
System
Though they may appear
similar to the untrained eye, they are not. For instance,
whereas some of the above-named modalities treat
the neural motor
points, Equine Sports
Massage Therapy is based on treating the muscular stress points to effect the release of muscular tension where
stress is most likely to build-at the tendinous point of
origin.
How effective the treatment
is for your horse depends on the Therapist's skill to locate,
assess, and treat problem areas. Worst
case, the unskilled therapist will be unable to secure the
spasm's release and fail to correct the problem. The spasm
will be as it was. When working directly on neural motor
points (as with acupuncture) and manipulating the spine (as in
chiropractic), one cannot make the same claims.
These more invasive means can inflict real damage upon the
animal by an unskilled practitioner.
What about other treatments?
Aren't they just as
effective for muscle problems?
Though they are also part of the
complementary therapy group and each has a job to do, they do not
directly treat the musculature as does Equine Manual Therapy. Their effect on the
musculature does not produce the same deep tissue, long lasting
benefits. To understand why this is so, let's look at
each, one by one........
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Chiropractic
This High Velocity Thrust (HVT) deals with
subluxations of the skeletal structure and facilitating normal
space between joints, enhancing joint function. Much benefit
in the way of relieving pressure on the nerves, can be derived
from chiropractic adjustments, when the situation calls for
it. Though the muscles may derive some relief when
treated by this method, equine chiropractic cannot and will not
relieve muscle spasms or knotted
fascia and is the wrong
treatment for such situations. Note that HVT has
proven to cause muscle and fascial tearing, which causes
soreness and inflammation in your horse. This is why the
technique MUST be done by a fully trained and experienced
practitioner and why several states, will
only licensed veterinarians to perform Equine
Chiropractic.
[Studies in Osteopathic
Medicine have shown that Low Velocity Thrust
(LVT), such as specific forms of Manual Therapies like
Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT), can produce the pain relieving
results that not only cause much less trauma to tissues but
actually last longer.]
Muscles have two primary
jobs; either to hold bones together (static) or move
them (dynamic). If a vertebral or joint misalignment has
existed for any length of time, the muscles will
have memorized an "incorrect" setting. After
chiropractic adjustment, these muscles do not automatically
"right" themselves. Unless the
muscles involved are released so that "correct"
muscle memory can be reestablished, chiropractic
adjustment will usually not
hold. Hypertonic muscles
will simply pull the horse out of alignment again.
The very reason why physicians attempt to reset a
dislocated shoulder as quickly as possible, is so that the
surrounding muscles do not have the opportunity to "freeze" in the
wrong position. For once that happens, invasive surgery
is required to correct it.
Hence, chiropractic treatment is
most effective when both preceded and followed by massage
therapy.
You'll then find that the adjustments lasts much
longer. And the better the health of your horse's muscles,
tendons, and ligaments are maintained, the less chance of a
misalignment occurring in the first place! For more
information on equine chiropractic, search for articles written by
noted Equine Chiropractor, professor and researcher, Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC,
PhD.
Horse
Holistics advises that before you allow someone to
perform chiropractic on your horse, make certain
your Equine Chiropractor is certified by and in good standing with
either the AVCA or the IAVC. For another
take on animal chiropractic, you may want to read what the
well-respected veterinarian David
W. Ramey, DVM has to
say.
Contractile Currents (Electric
Stimulation)
They too are not
accurate. They work by adding contraction to a
muscle that already cannot find release. The
obvious pain aside, this is not the way to release
muscle spasms. That said, here's how they can
be effective: (1) at low levels, for pain relief, (2) for
neuromuscular diagnosis, (3) for exercising a muscle with
deficient nerve impulse (nerve damage), and possibly (4) in
aiding simple muscle cramps by initiating
response.
Applied to a wide area,
heat application is not accurate and is carried away by the
bloodstream. It has neither depth nor durability and cannot
affect deep tissue. What it can do is relax the
general area by affecting the nerve endings, thus comforting the
animal.
Because the body always
tries to maintain a steady body temperature, icing an area will
actually produce increased circulation after several minutes,
making it more effective than heat as a vasodilator. It is
wonderful for reducing swelling and pain relief from
bruising. However in and of itself, it cannot separate
muscle fibers that are in spasm or fascia that is stuck
together.
Studies show
that the magnetic field produced by even the strongest magnet
cannot and does not penetrate more than a fraction of an inch
below the skin layer, making them ineffectual against deep muscle
problems. I have found that horses become extremely tense
and agitated when magnets are used as their effect on
the chemical signals of the nervous system, which originate
from the brain, is unclear. I would advise using this
"therapy" sparingly if at all, while closely monitoring
your horse for any deleterious effects. For more on this
subject, see Magnetic and Electromagnetic Therapies in
Horses, by
David W. Ramey,
DVM.
This form of chemotherapy
works via the entire nervous system and is called
for in cases of entire body muscle seizure as in a traumatic
accident or shock. But by blunting the horse's
entire nervous system, it is inaccurate for addressing
specific muscle problems. Drug therapy can relax a
general muscle mass (like heat); but since it affects the
contraction as well as the release processes, it diminishes
the horse's overall strength and capability. Though
necessary in cases following acute trauma, as a treatment
modality in chronic situations, it is often
ineffective.
Rest is extremely important after acute
injury and there are times when it cannot be avoided.
But it soon becomes counterproductive,
because resting and immobilization allow a spasm to
become permanent!
Muscle strength diminishes significantly after two weeks of stall
rest and joints become stiff from lack of movement.
You will also find
the confinement very mentally taxing on your horse and this too
results in spasms due to
tension.
Call Horse Holistics
today!
(704)
896-6500
 
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