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Shock Wave Therapy: New Hope for Navicular Disease? It sounds like Frankenstein is alive and well in the equine clinic at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, but don’t worry, that's lameness specialist Scott McClure DVM at the controls of an exciting new lithotripsy unit. First famous as the technology that "smashes" kidney stones, lithotripsy is headed for the horse world, with important protocols and basic treatment procedures being developed at Purdue. Common racing injuries in young Thoroughbreds like splints or bucked shins are sure to be at the top of the demand list for these units, but McClure is cautiously optimistic that navicular disease will be on his list. Seventy percent of navicular cases treated at Purdue showed improvement, though radiographic change has not been documented. A full article on the promising new technology of lithotripsy ("shock wave therapy") will be published in Hoofcare & Lameness Issue #73. Note: Several different applications of shock wave therapy are being manufactured and marketed. A type called radial shock therapy -- which is not the same as McClure’s technology at Purdue -- will soon be available at the Rochester Equine Clinic in Rochester, NH, where a pilot program is being developed with referral cases from veterinarians in New England. Photo credit: courtesy of Scott McClure, Purdue University To read more about lithotripsy and shock wave applications for horses, subscribe to Hoofcare & Lameness in time to receive issue #73. Would you like to read more about natural therapy for laminitis and Dr. Harman's suggestions for management? Click here to subscribe to Hoofcare & Lameness and the new issue will be rushed to you in the mail the day it is published! © 1997-2000 Hoofcare & Lameness |