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Sports Medicine & Lameness Examinations

Sports medicine is a core service provided at Crum Equine Veterinary Service. To keep horses at peak performance, we can perform in-depth evaluations at your farm, stable, show grounds or racetrack and prescribe treatment plans to keep your horses  performing at their peak.

Lameness is the most common cause of loss of use in horses. Lameness can be caused by trauma, congential or acquired disorders, infection, or nervous and circulatory system diseases.  It is critical to correctly determine the cause of the lameness, because treatment varies greatly depending on the cause.

Lameness Exams:

 

Each lameness exam is performed with attention to the horse’s discipline, age and history. We take pride in conducting detail-oriented exams in order to best diagnose the lameness in your horse.

Diagnostic Imaging:

We offer up-to-date technology for obtaining diagnostic images on the farm. We have the ability to take digital radiography and digital ultrasounds at your facility.

 

 

 

Regenerative Therapy:

Modern medicine has made the use of regenerative medicine, like platelet rich plasma and IRAP, much more accessible for horse owners. We use V-Pet Veterinary Platelet Enhancement Therapy, a proven and natural cell therapy for treating Osteoarthritis, joints, tendon and soft tissue injuries. The on-site filtration system allows us to obtain a highly concentrated PRP from the fresh whole blood with minimal to no damage to the platelets. This allows for a better PRP within a matter of minutes, and will help your horse to heal more quickly.

 IRAP Therapy allows us to concentrate the antagonist protein toward Interleukin 1, which causes damage to the joint leading to discomfort and pain for your horse. IRAP therapy can allow your horse to remain pain free, increase the healing process of its joint, and give it a healthier joint for a longer period of time. Whole blood is drawn from the horse, incubated for 24 hours, and then spun down and processed. The IRAP is then drawn up and injected into the joint or joints of interest. Multiple doses of IRAP can be obtained from one blood draw and can be frozen for future use in the arthritic joint or joints.

 

 

 

 

 

Shockwave:

The shockwave machine produces a wave or pulse that is “shot” through the body a certain depth to achieve the desired results. This treatment is used for virtually any musculoskeletal lameness, or soft tissue disease. Some of the most common injuries we use this form of therapy on:

  • Bowed tendons
  • Fractured sesamoids
  • Sesamoiditis
  • Stress fractures
  • Suspensory ligament desmitis
  • Navicular disease
  • Osteo-arthritis

It provides both analgesic (reduced pain) and healing properties. Shockwave therapy has been shown to provide osteogenesis (production of bone), and neovascularization (increased blood flow). The quick and relatively pain free procedure can be done on site.

Cryotherapy:

Also known as “freeze firing” uses liquid nitrogen to pinpoint and freeze superficial to deeper soft tissue or bony structures without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The specialized Cyrotherapy gun is what allows us to target certain tissues achieving desired results with minimal to no damage to healthier surrounding tissues.

It can be employed for analgesia and strengthening of certain structures or it can be used for destroying and removing unwanted masses such as skin tumors. This procedure can be used to destroy the “seed” which causes reoccuring sarcoids. Cryotherapy has also been used to treat “popped splints”, curbs, and torn/damaged suspensories. One permanent side effect of using Cryotherapy is that the hair usually turns white after being subjected to the extreme cold.

 

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy can be used to treat primary or secondary back and or neck pain. A tight, stiff, or sore back keeps your horse from performing at top level. Mesotherapy involves a technique of making multiple small injections subcutaneously which allows the muscle of the back to relax.Mesotherapy can accompany stifle and hock injections that have caused secondary pain within and along the back. It can help restore your horse to peak performance and allow for a comfortable ride for you and your horse.