Silicone to Lube Joints? (AAEP Convention 2004)

“We had heard several anecdotal reports of intra-articular administration of liquid silicone being used as a lubricant in equine joints (to treat osteoarthritis),” began Daniel Burba, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, professor of equine surgery at Louisiana State University, at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo., Dec. 4-8, 2004. “It sounded kind of
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"We had heard several anecdotal reports of intra-articular administration of liquid silicone being used as a lubricant in equine joints (to treat osteoarthritis)," began Daniel Burba, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, professor of equine surgery at Louisiana State University, at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo., Dec. 4-8, 2004. "It sounded kind of interesting," so he and several colleagues decided to try it.

"Silicone has been used in Standardbred racehorses in conjunction with corticosteroids to treat refractory degenerative joint disease," he noted. "Silicone fluid is chemically inert, hydrophobic (water-resisting), has low volatility (won't react with much), resists decomposition by heat, and has low surface tension. It has a wide range of viscosity, from 20-1,000 centistokes (1 centistoke or cs=viscosity of water)." (Viscosity refers to a liquid or gelatinous substance's texture; a highly viscous substance is very thick, like molasses, while water has low viscosity.)

Burba noted that only one study, published in 1967, has ever reported the effects of liquid silicone in equine joints. "We wanted to further investigate the effects," he noted.

He and colleagues studied the effects of 2 mL of 1,000-cs medical grade sterile silicone injected into one knee in each of eight horses that were free of middle carpal joint disease. The horses were five to 10 years old, included four geldings and four mares, and were all sound. The opposite knee on each horse was injected with saline as a control

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Written by:

Christy West has a BS in Equine Science from the University of Kentucky, and an MS in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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