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PulseVet Shock Wave therapy for horses

With 15 years of clinical success behind it, PulseVet Shock Wave therapy is trusted by equine veterinarians and horse owners worldwide. Help your horse get back to work sooner with this effective, long-lasting therapy.

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What can PulseVet Shock Wave treat in horses?

PulseVet Shock Wave has been proven effective and is considered the gold standard of treatment for a variety of conditions that result in pain and lameness, including:

Tendon & Ligament Injuries

Soft tissue injuries including strains and tears of flexor tendons, suspensory and check ligaments, bowed tendons, and muscle strains are common in horses. These types of injuries can take a long time to heal with months of rehabilitation, limited exercise, and high rate of reinjury.

PulseVet therapy offers a viable recovery option, requiring only three treatments spaced 2-3 weeks apart.

PulseVet Benefits
  • Improves speed of healing and quality of tissue repair
  • Reduces inflammation, decreasing lameness and pain

Bone Fractures

Riding, racing, and jumping put stress on a horse’s bones and increase the risk of fractures, including splints and buck shins. PulseVet therapy accelerates cellular bone production at the injury site for faster and more complete bone healing.

PulseVet Benefits
  • Stimulating proteins increase cellular bone production for faster bone healing
  • Reduces inflammation, decreasing lameness and pain
  • Improves patient outcomes and recovery

Osteoarthritis/Joint Disease

Joint conditions such as bone spavin, hock injuries, and ringbone cause steady deterioration of the joint, resulting in severe chronic lameness and pain. PulseVet therapy slows down disease progression within the joint, helping to reduce inflammation and resolve lameness.
PulseVet Benefits
  • Manages chronic pain
  • Resolves lameness for 6-12 months on average – after just 1-2 treatments
  • Reduces need for daily dosed medications

Foot Injuries

Foot and heel pain including navicular syndrome can be very serious for horses as they lead to lameness, infection, and even death. PulseVet therapy provides a viable, safe alternative to surgery for many horses, requires only 3 treatments, spaced 2-3 weeks apart.
PulseVet Benefits
  • Improves speed of healing
  • Improves quality of tissue repair
  • Reduces inflammation, decreasing lameness and pain

Wounds

Wounds in horses can lead to chronic, painful infections. PulseVet therapy provides an effective, drug-free solution.
PulseVet Benefits
  • Limits likelihood of wound becoming chronic
  • Promotes antibacterial effects to help fight infection1
  • Provides sufficient pain relief

Back Pain/Kissing Spines

Back and neck pain can lead to lameness, behavioral problems, and make horses more susceptible to other injuries. PulseVet therapy provides long-term relief from common equine back/neck injuries.
PulseVet Benefits
  • Reduces inflammation, decreasing lameness and pain for 6-12 months on average – after just 1-2 treatments
  • Improves mobility
  • Reduces need for daily dosed medications
1Gerdesmeyer L, et al. Antibacterial Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Waves. Ultrasound in Med & Biol. 2005;31:115-119.

What to expect

Noninvasive: no surgery involved, so there’s no risk of infection or complications
Effective: clinically proven treatment option for pain and/or lameness
Safe:sedation-free and well-tolerated treatments
An average treatment is relatively fast and easy, lasting about 5 minutes or less. Typically, you can see results within 1-3 treatments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Referred to as “shock wave” for more than a decade now, the PulseVet  technology uses high-energy sound waves – called pulses or shock waves – to stimulate and speed the body’s own healing process. These sound waves release higher energy and result in deeper penetration than an ultrasound or laser. The waves travel through soft tissue at different depths to a specific treatment area and begin healing.

The high-energy sound waves stimulate cells and release healing growth factors in the body that reduce inflammation and swelling, increase blood flow, and help bones and wounds heal.

It takes time for the biological responses in the body to take effect and begin healing. Your horse should not take part in any strenuous or high-impact activity during this period, even if it appears it is feeling better. The healing is not complete, so give your horse some rest. Many times 1 treatment is sufficient for long-term healing. However, your vet may recommend a second or third treatment a few weeks apart, depending on the indication.

Yes. Shock Wave, or high-energy sound wave therapy, is vastly different from laser therapy:
Shock wave uses SOUND, whereas laser uses LIGHT energy.
Shock wave is FDA-approved and backed by more than 10 years of veterinary and human medicine research. Please ask your doctors for studies to back up the treatment you are considering!
Shock wave creates a higher-energy output and penetrates deeper than a laser can. Lasers are most beneficial for superficial indications that require a few millimeters in depth.
1-3 treatments provide long-lasting healing with shock wave, whereas lasers require 10-15 treatments for any given injury, and the healing has not been studied or proven to last long-term.
There is no risk of burns with sound energy like with laser therapy, and no protective glasses are needed. In fact, no adverse effects have been reported with shock wave.

Shock wave healing is an affordable alternative to surgery, as well as long-term use of anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals. It requires significantly fewer treatments than other modalities. One treatment ranges from $250-350, which may or may not include sedation and other tests/exams the veterinarian performs for effectively diagnosing the injury before treatment.

For information on finding a practice in your area, you can contact us or visit our Find a Vet page
“My 20-year old Irish Sport horse suffered a suspensory injury last August coming off of a large jump. After only a few sessions of shock wave we are now trotting! We are ahead of the vet’s prediction by about 3-4 months!”

C. Bileddo, Horse Owner in Illinois

Have Questions? Ask Our Vet!

Our equine veterinarian can answer all your questions regarding shock wave therapy for your horse.

Dr. Rod Richards, BSC, BVMS, MANZCVSC, MRCVS

Equine Veterinarian

Have Questions? Ask Our Vet!

Our equine veterinarian can answer all your questions regarding shock wave therapy for your horse.

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