Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, recently evaluated extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in treating 32 horses with navicular syndrome diagnoses. He presented the results of his research study during the 2004 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 4-8 in Denver, Colo.

Horses were treated one time with 2,000 shock wave pulses under general anesthesia in lateral recumbency.

Part of the challenge of treating this area with ESWT is, "To do this, you have to be able to get the shock wave (through the thick tissues of the foot) to the navicular bone, so you do two approaches, through the heel bulbs and the frog," explained McClure. "Pare them down the evening before the treatment, soak the foot, and come back and freshen the edges to get the shock in the foot where you'd like to have it."

After treatment, the horses were discharged and the owners were instructed to maintain the horses' current shoeing regimens and add no additional treatment. Bute was given to the horses for one week, and they were given a week of stall rest followed by a week of hand walking