Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Treatment of Navicular Syndrome

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy was effective in decreasing the lameness associated with navicular syndrome in 81% of the horses as determined by an unmasked evaluator and in 56% of the horses with masked evaluators. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy provided a non-invasive, effective mechanism to decrease the lameness associated with navicular syndrome. There were no complications associated with the procedure. Horses that responded to treatment did not regress in the year after treatment. Authors' addresses: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, (McClure, Miles, Reinertson) and Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine (Evans), College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, LA 50010-1250; Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1250 (Hawkins); and Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4475 (Honnas). O 2004 AAEP.