Recent News for Alternative Therapies
Article
Sacroiliac Joint Motion and Pelvic Deformation, AAEP 2008
March 29, 2009
An equine athlete uses the pelvis and sacroiliac (SI) joint in many different fashions: A rope horse uses the pelvis to rapidly accelerate and decelerate, a Standardbred races at high speed at a constrained gait, and a dressage horse... Read More
Article
Acquired Scoliosis in Equids, AAEP 2008
March 17, 2009
Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, is most often attributed to congenital vertebral malformations, possibly associated with malposition of the fetus in the uterus. However, researchers have linked cases of acquired scoliosis presented at Cornell... Read More
Article
Atlantic Veterinary College to Offer Chiropractic Services for Horses
February 14, 2009
The Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island was recently awarded a grant by the Equine Foundation of Canada to support the development of chiropractic services for horses. The new service will mark the first time in... Read More
Article
Virginia-Maryland Veterinary Teaching Hospital Offers Acupuncture
October 29, 2008
Needles are often equated with pain and discomfort; however, for a horse named Gypsy the tiny sharp objects brought relief as Mark Crisman, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, a professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the... Read More
Article
New Study on Acupuncture with Drugs as Equine Sedation Option
October 28, 2008
Acupuncture is not a new technique, but clinical studies proving that this treatment modality works in horses are relatively few and far between. In the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Brazilian scientists... Read More
Article
Complementary Therapeutic Options for Horses
July 01, 2008
The two most utilized therapies in equine medicine are veterinary acupuncture and chiropractic.... Read More
Article
Regulation of Complementary Therapies: States of Confusion
June 27, 2008
Not too many years ago, proponents of massage therapy, acupuncture and acupressure, chiropractic, and other complementary or alternative therapies for animals often were dismissed as part of the lunatic fringe. Today, with apologies to Bob Dylan, the... Read More
Article
Acupuncture and Chiropractic: Healthy Horses Workshop
May 12, 2008
Acupuncture can be effective in treating chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders such as lameness, Heiderich told her listeners. She said it also can be beneficial for eye problems, mild colic, respiratory disorders, anhidrosis (the inability... Read More
Article
Neck Problems in Sport Horses
May 11, 2008
Some of the more typical clinical signs horses with a neck problem might present include stiffness, muscle atrophy, patchy sweating, shortened forelimb stride, forelimb lameness, and abnormal head carriage.... Read More
Article
Sacroiliac Injection Technique
April 15, 2008
The sacroiliac joint, which forms the articulation between the pelvis and the spine, is often considered a location of elusive pain in horses. However, its deep location and, thereby, limited accessibility make diagnosis (via nerve blocks) and ... Read More
Article
Reducing Back Sensitivity
March 30, 2008
Back pain is often suspected in horses, but most treatments haven't been researched much or at all. Results of a study designed to measure the effects of massage, chiropractic, and phenylbutazone (Bute) on back sensitivity were presented at the 200... Read More
Article
Diagnosing Coxofemoral Subluxation with Ultrasound
March 28, 2008
Subluxation (partial dislocation) of the coxofemoral joint between the femur and pelvis in horses is rare; only two cases have been reported in the literature. However, six cases were seen at the University of California, Davis, in a three-year... Read More
Article
Detecting Latent Back Pain in Horses
March 19, 2008
Even if they can't tell you where it hurts, horses with back pain will soon be able to benefit from Scottish and Austrian research focusing on the long muscles of the equine back. In the article, which is slated for an upcoming edition of... Read More
Article
Complementary Medicine: Adding Weapons to the Veterinary Arsenal
November 28, 2007
As the human population turns more to nontraditional modalities such as acupuncture and chiropractic, it's only natural for the trend to carry over into equine medicine. Ed Boldt, DVM, owner of Performance Horse Complementary Medicine Services i... Read More
Article
Researching Complementary Therapies
November 17, 2007
Complementary medicine is based primarily on preventing the disease, disorder, or other ailment before it happens,with less emphasistreating it after. This is a bit of a contrast to what Westerners think of as traditional medicine.... Read More
Article
Veterinary Acupuncture and Chiropractic: What, When, Who?
September 11, 2007
The use of "complementary" therapies continues to increase in veterinary practice. While there are a myriad of modalities that fall within this broad term, the two most utilized are veterinary acupuncture and chiropractic (sometimes referred to... Read More
Article
Therapeutic Options in Veterinary Research
April 01, 2007
Veterinarians desire to be the gatekeepers for horse health and welfare, so they need to be educated in therapeutic options to meet expectations of clients. Surveys performed by the AAEP in 1998 and 2002 indicated an increased use of and referral... Read More
Article
Electroacupuncture and Back Pain
February 25, 2007
Currently, much acupuncture practice in horses is based on limited evidence, such as small-scale research, case studies, and clinical experience. High-quality research is essential to the long-term development of "evidence-based practice." As there... Read More
Article
Acupuncture and Pain Relief for Horses
February 09, 2007
Acupuncture has been shown to be very effective in treating chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders such as lameness. It can also be beneficial for eye problems, colic (although it will not fix a surgical colic), respiratory disorders, anhidrosis... Read More
Article
Acupuncture Use in the Treatment of Reproductive Disorders
February 01, 2007
Acupuncture can be used in conjunction with Western medicine prior to breeding to treat anestrus (period of sexual inactivity), excessive behavioral estrus, retained corpus luteum (an ovarian follicle after discharge of the egg that secretes... Read More
Article
Acupuncture: A Stick in Time
June 01, 2006
Today, acupuncture is a widely used modality in equine sports medicine. Whether used as a stand-alone therapy or in conjunction with other treatment options, acupuncture is gaining in popularity as an integral part of the total health care approach... Read More
Article
Electroacupuncture Alleviates Chronic Back Pain
November 01, 2005
University of Florida (UF) researchers have reported success with using electroacupuncture to alleviate chronic back pain in horses. The study was published in a recent edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.... Read More
Article
Acupuncture: Eager Boys and Wolves
August 01, 2005
Veterinarians have heard of "promising" claims of "complementary" or "alternative" veterinary medicine (CAVM) for at least three decades. The only thing that's not been forthcoming is good evidence of effectiveness.... Read More
Article
Therapeutic Options
August 01, 2005
Not long ago, veterinarians generally considered most forms of alternative medicine to be a "smoke and mirrors" approach to treating horses. Today, many veterinarians are embracing at least two forms of alternative medicine--acupuncture and... Read More
Article
Acupuncture for Acute Heaves
July 01, 2005
Acupuncture has become a popular alternative therapy for chronic illness in horses, especially recurrent airway obstruction (also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or heaves). Unfortunately, there are few objective studies supporting... Read More
