Woollands Equine Re-habilitation Centre (W.E.R.C.)

 Jo Paul M.C.S.P., A.C.P.A.T Cat A - Chartered Physiotherapist

Case Study: Superficial digital flexor tendinitis

Physiotherapy problems

• Painful, swollen or bowed tendon.
• Disruption of tendon fibres.
• Dysfunction of muscles supporting the tendon.
• Interruption of the efficient movement of the whole horse, causing whole body muscle dysfunction and imbalance.

Physiotherapy treatment

As adjunct to veterinary treatment and any remedial farriery:

• Local tendon treatment with electrotherapy.
• Re-educate muscles supporting the tendon.
• Re-balance and re-educate movement of the rest of the body to reduce stress on the injured tendon.

Timescale

Physiotherapy will not always reduce the time the tendon takes to heal but aims to improve the quality of the healing of the lesion in the tendon and, by providing a controlled, progressive exercise programme, will produce a stronger, more efficiently moving horse by the time the tendon repairs. Hopefully this will help prevent the recurrence of the injury.

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