Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine want to determine the efficacy and safety of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), and are seeking horses to participate in a study using the therapy. Extracorporeal shock waves are high-pressure, low frequency sound waves, generated by a device outside the body and applied to the affected tissue in a site-specific manner.

“If we can determine the effectiveness of this therapy, then veterinarians can offer the service to clients with confidence,” says Peter Muir, BVSc, MVCS, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the ESWT research team along with Ryland Edwards, III, DVM, MS, DACVS.

To find out if your horse qualifies for this study, contact the UW Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at 608/263-7600.

In addition to the clinical research, Edwards, Muir, and Elizabeth Santschi, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, will be investigating the effects of ESWT on equine bone. This lab-based work will determine the acute effects of shockwave energy on bone and might clarify how it acts during treatment of bucked shins and other bone injuries