April Case of the Month and Featured Treatment: Mesotherapy
Mesotherapy is a pain-relieving therapy which can be used for horses with back pain that has not been sufficiently controlled by other means. The therapy consists of many small injections into the middle and deeper layers of the skin of local anesthetic, steroid and other pain-modulating medications. The needles used are only 4mm long to allow for consistent injection of the medications at the right depth within the skin. These medications administered into the skin help to reset the chronic pain cycles experienced by horses with long-term back pain, reducing hypersensitivity in the area and allowing the sensory nerves to return to a more normal function. The therapy is administered once or twice, depending on the horse’s response to the initial session, and results are typically noticeable within the first 7 days after treatment.
It’s important to note that back pain in horses is often secondary to pain in the limbs, or poor saddle fit, and these sources of pain should also be addressed, either prior to the mesotherapy treatment or concurrently. If not addressed, these issues will continue to trigger back pain until they are resolved.
The photo below shows the raised pattern left on the skin by the mesotherapy injections, which fades within the first day following the treatment.
If your horse has a sore back, contact the clinic to discuss mesotherapy and other possible treatment options.