ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT METHODS                                            PRINT PAGE

There are many ways to treat a horse in pain. In general the methods can be divided into two groups: the traditional and the so-called alternative or complementary methods.

The traditional methods are those veterinarians are trained in when studying at Vet School and the treatment applied is with various types of medication, often requiring prescription or only to be applied by veterinarians.

The complementary methods comprise acupuncture, manipulation in the form of chiropractic or osteopathy, homeopathic medicine etc. Most of these methods are very old and have proven their value through hundreds – even thousands – of years “survival”, but not all have been tested by means of today’s standards, i.e. double blind tests, which is why not all veterinarians/doctors approve of these methods. Many people do not feel that they or their horses are being helped by the traditional system and therefore consult the complementary methods. As doctors/veterinarians have not been that good in offering these methods, a great number of lay people (people who are not doctors/veterinarians) have started offering treatment by means of these methods. Of course there are many well-educated people among them, however, there are also people who do not help the patients at all – on the contrary.

My reason for writing this is that we recently had a client at the clinic whose horse had been lame for 11 months. The owner had started by contacting the veterinarian, but as the veterinarian was unable to solve the problem in only one consultation (which is not always possible) the owner contacted a person who treats horses by means of chiropractic. The person in question was of the opinion that the horse’s shoulder joint should be manipulated, which she did several times over a period of time without any improvement in the horse.

At our examination the horse had great difficulties in walking, as it turned out the pain came from the caudal part of the hoof, i.e. the navicular bone. On the X-ray there were vast osseous changes and therefore the horse was put down the same day.

At the post mortem examination there was a long hole in the bone and in one area there was no cartilage, which means that the horse had been in a LOT of pain for a LONG time. In such a case, the person should not have treated the patient without a proper diagnosis and certainly not for such a long time. However, it is entirely the owner’s responsibility to contact the veterinarian again, when the first treatment has not worked and not to trust a person unreservedly who is unable to help the horse for such a long time.



If your horse becomes ill, does not function when mounted, becomes lame or gets back pain, always contact your veterinarian, before contacting a person practising alternative treatment in order to have a proper diagnosis established, which is the basis for correct treatment. This treatment may well be from the group of complementary methods such as acupuncture and manipulation.

I think that it is important to be as open as possible towards the various methods of treatment irrespective of origin – the most important is to establish as exact a diagnosis as possible first and then choose the methods of treatment, which may be a combination of the traditional and complementary methods. For example can a horse with back pain and joint pain in the leg, which makes him lame, best be helped by traditional joint treatment and acupuncture and manipulation of the back.



In the following I will briefly discuss acupuncture and manipulation.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a 4,000 – 5,000-year-old part of the traditional Chinese medicine. It consists in addition to acupuncture of herbal medicine, physical exercises and change of incorrect lifestyle. The Chinese philosophy on diseases is incredibly interesting, because it always views the matters holistically and tries to establish the cause.

It is also fascinating that for such a long time now the Chinese were able to describe diseases in such detail merely by means of their senses. These are diseases which the Western World has first been able to describe during the past century by means of instruments and machines. The Chinese did it at a time, where we were hitting each others’ heads with clubs and dragging the women by the hair in Europe. If doctors and veterinarians only would study the holistic view and the understanding of diseases of the Chinese, then they would be incredibly better at establishing diagnosis and thus helping the patients.

The Western Approach
The Western way of thinking is that proof of how everything works is essential. This can be very difficult within the complementary medicine, as there are no standard methods of treatments, but methods of treatment designed for the individual patient.

A part of the mechanisms of the effects of acupuncture have been proven by means of pre- and post-stimulation of acupuncture points by drawing blood samples and showing an increase in various compounds. Among others endorphin, cortisol, the number of leucocytes (i.e. an enhancement of the immune system), hormones stimulating the development of egg cells and ovulation in women. By means of thermography (measuring of heat in the skin) a significant effect was seen in the blood flow of the skin, which was clearly increased. The parasympathetic nervous system of the patient is also activated whereby the body becomes more relaxed and better at restoring itself.

It is also known that acupuncture can block pain signals from an area so that the signals only reach the spinal cord and not the brain, i.e. it has the effect of local anaesthesia, the so-called “pain-gate” function. In China this has been known in major surgeries where the patient is only anaesthetized by means of needles. This was the first issue which convinced the Western World of the excellence of acupuncture.

The Chinese Philosophy
According to the Chinese there are 14 meridians or energy fields in the body, the twelve of them are paired, i.e. there are two of each. On each meridian there is a number of acupuncture points. The energy must flow freely through the meridians for the person to be in good health. Each of the 12 meridians have connection to a certain organ and its functions as well as the mind.

For example is the kidney meridian responsible for the production of urine, the maintenance of the body’s fluid balance, the hearing and the feeling of fear. The liver meridian is among others responsible for the development of enzymes for the metabolization of food, the immune system, the sight and the feeling of aggression.

In this way all organs, their functions and mental conditions are placed under a specific meridian, which again belongs to the system of “the five elements” or the five groups. Each element is dependent on the others in order to function optimally.

All characteristics, symptoms and stress factors can be placed within one of the elements, and then their correlation can be overviewed, and it is easier to find the original cause of the disease. The Chinese believe that there is a constant flow of energy throughout the body by means of the meridians from one to the other according to a certain system.

Each organ has a two-hour-period within 24 hours where it is most active, and at that time the symptoms will be most significant, if there is a problem. For example the lung meridian is most active between 3 and 5 a.m. Try to pay attention to what time you wake up and cough, when you have a respiratory infection, or what time you wake up and sweat, when you are stressed or depressive.

Diseases occur when there is imbalance in the energies of the meridians, i.e. either too little energy or too much energy or a stagnation of energy in one or more meridians.

The acupuncture points can be stimulated in many ways:

  • With needles.
  • By applying low electricity to the needles.
  • By heating the needles (Moxa).
  • By applying laser on the superficial points.
  • By injecting fluid (aquapuncture).
  • By applying pressure (acupressure) or massage.
  • By placing pieces of gold on the points.


Acupuncture is efficient for a great many diseases, however, there are diseases where the Western medicine works either faster or better, e.g. sedatives injected directly into the blood.

In cases of colic I will always use the Western medicine first, but I might also use the needles to stimulate the gastrointestinal system. As all other methods of treatment, acupuncture cannot heal diseases with obvious changes in organs or bones.

In case of muscular pain and reduced blood flow, there is in my mind no better treatment than acupuncture.

Many studies on the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases have been successful, however, the number of treatments amounts to 10-20. Low fertility and other diseases of the reproductive system can also be treated with needles with good results in both the mare and the stallion. Acupuncture is also beneficial for the stimulation of the internal organs, on the condition that they are not permanently damaged. With horses the problem is often that such disease are detected too late.

In Denmark, only veterinarians are authorised to treat animals with needle acupuncture. Anyone can treat their animals with acupressure, i.e. pressure on the points.


Manipulation
Chiropractic, osteopathy and manipulation are all methods dealing with the normalisation of the mobility of the joints, specifically in the spinal column, but also the joints of the limbs and the jaws.

The individual joint has a certain degree of normal mobility, which can be increased by pressing the joint up to its physiological boundary. If the joint is moved beyond that boundary, it may lock and not move normally again, because the muscles retract strongly and do not receive messages from the nervous system to relax again. If the joint is pressed further it will dislocate, which is another and more serious matter.

When the joints lock there may be increased mobility in the surrounding vertebrae to compensate for the locked ones. The result is that the muscles tense in larger areas and the problem may spread in both directions and grow and grow.

There is also an irritation of the nerves emerging between the vertebrae from the spinal cord. The result is pain but also too little or excess nerve stimulation. This easily affects the blood vessels and there will be increased blood flow in acute cases, but in prolonged cases this will result in a retraction of the blood vessels and hence reduced blood flow. This affects the blood supply to the muscles and consequently their function.

The articulations of the neck and spinal column are exposed as well as are the jaws, the first coccygeal vertebrae, the proximal sesamoid and the hyoid bones can lock in incorrect positions so the mobility is reduced and the horse is in pain.

Many people are sceptical towards the possibility of manipulating the horses large bones and its strong muscles. It demands much more technique than physical strength to manipulate a horse, and in many cases the horse’s own reflexes are used. If the horse is given acupuncture at the same time a good muscular relaxation is attained, and the manipulation becomes easier and more durable. When manipulating there is an extension of the tensed muscles, so they fall back into their normal degree of tension, and thereby allowing the joints to assume their correct position. Manipulation does not require general anaesthesia. Studies in humans show that it simply does not work. Furthermore it is impossible to feel the physiological boundaries of the joints and consequently injuries may occur. There is also a risk that the horse re-injures himself, when he collapses or moves around when he tries to rise again. If the manipulation is done incorrectly, the horse can be injured, therefore the person manipulating the horse must be trained.

When a horse has been treated by manipulation he may be sore for the next 2 to 4 days, because he starts using some of his muscles differently. Therefore the horse should not be mounted, but he is allowed to move around without rider.



By now there is a number of Danish veterinarians who have attended post-graduate courses in acupuncture and manipulation at international, high-level courses with both oral and written examinations, so it is possible to have your horse treated with a combination of the traditional and complementary methods at the same time.

Rikke Schultz
Equine Veterinarian

Hørsholm Hestepraksis (The Equine Veterinary Clinic in Hoersholm)