Tendon injuries in horses
Tendon injuries in horses are common and affect equines worldwide, resulting from acute or chronic overloading. The recovery process alone is often long and unpredictable, and leading to weaknesses of the tendon and increasing the risk of re-injury.
The light therapy system significantly improves tendon repair – scientifically proven. The treatment shortens and improves the recovery process during all three injury phases.
The tendon recovery process can be divided into three main phases: inflammatory, proliferation, and remodeling. The light therapy system repair mechanisms differ in the three stages.
Based on clinical and animal studies, the mechanism of the light therapy system promoting tendon injury repair involves:
– Reducing the production of inflammatory factors.
– Accelerating the release of anti-inflammatory factors.
– Promoting angiogenesis.
What is a tendon injury?
Tendons consist of fibrous connective tissue bands, which sit at each end of a muscle. The tendon attaches the muscle to the skeleton. When a tendon gets overloaded, it can lead to fibers being stretched too much, thereby being damaged or lost. When this happens, the body responds with inflammation.
How to detect a tendon injury
A slight tendon injury can be challenging to detect. Diffuse symptoms such as a slight increase in heat and swelling over the affected tendon that quickly disappears may be the only signs. More severe injuries cause more heat, swelling, and pain. It is common for the horse to limp, but the limping usually decreases significantly after just a few days.
Common symptoms:
– Heat
– Swelling
– Pain when pressing over the injured tendon
– Limping
The three stages in tendon recovery
The first phase is the inflammatory phase which occurs within 48 hours of the injury and lasts about a week. The injured tissue fills with blood clots, fibrin attaches to the damaged tissue, and inflammation develops. Treatment with light therapy during this phase will activate a large number of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) and promote angiogenesis.
The next phase, the proliferative phase, lasts a few weeks and is mainly characterized by forming a large amount of granulation tissue, including collagen fibers. During this phase, treatment with light therapy increases the amount of collagen type III, which improves the ability of the tendon to heal.
The final phase is the remodeling phase which lasts for months and is characterized by a remodeling of the ECM, which is accompanied by a significant reduction or apoptosis of cells, a reduction of type III collagen, and the promotion of type I collagen synthesis. Throughout the remodeling phase, treatment with light therapy will activate M2 macrophages and downregulates inflammatory factors, thus reducing inflammatory responses.
Recommended LED by Cheval light therapy systems for tendon injuries in horses
Treatment with light therapy will remarkably improve the recovery process in all three phases of tendon injuries in horses. We recommend five minutes 2-3 times daily until the injury is healed. After that, once a day to prevent the injury from occurring again.
Give your horse the best possible chance for a successful recovery.
