TREATMENT
Initial treatment is aimed at reducing inflammation and involves: Rest. Anti-inflammatory medications or topical gels. Icing or cold hosing. Bandaging to provide support to the limb may be recommended in some cases. Following this initial stage, a treatment plan will be formulated depending on the severity of the injury. If an ultrasound is carried out at the time of the initial injury, it is often recommended to repeat the scan 10-14 days later to get a thorough picture of the extent of the injury. If there is a lesion (hole) in the tendon, this may be injected with biological substances to encourage healing. Options include: Stem cells — these are able to transform into many different cell types that encourage regeneration, growth and healing. Platelet rich plasma — blood taken from the horse being treated is processed to produce a concentrated sample full of platelets that can be injected into a tendon at the site of injury. When platelets arrive at the injury site, they are stimulated to release growth factors that promote healing. As tendons repair, collagen fibres are poorly aligned and reduce the elasticity of the tendon, making them vulnerable to re-injury. Therefore, the most important part of rehabilitation following a tendon injury is a controlled exercise programme. A controlled return to full work encourages realignment of the collagen fibres and may improve the quality of the repair. Tendon injuries involve a lengthy rehabilitation period. For example, if your horse has a core lesion in a SDFT, it may take him 9-12 months to return to previous levels of exercise. Treatment with a grade IV regenerative laser is becoming more common in equine practice, with one study suggesting that horses treated with this may return to exercise sooner, with a reduced chance of re-injury. Further research is required to confirm this.