At Solas Equine, we endeavor to stay at the forefront of the latest and great technologies that can be used to help your horse not only heal better, but heal faster. We believe that new technologies are the future of equine sports medicine and wanted to take the time to introduce you to one of our favorite new pieces of technology, the SmartRLT Sport Laser.
The SmartRLT Sport Laser is used as a form of regenerative therapy that is ideal in helping heal lameness, as a part of equine sports medicine treatment regimens and as a key component of rehabilitating almost any injury a horse may obtain. The laser is a non-invasive method of speeding up the treatment and healing process for an equine related injury.
How does Regenerative Laser Therapy work? Regenerative Laser Therapy is achieved when light is delivered in very short, very high-energy pulses. When these pulses are absorbed deep into the tissue, they create an outgoing shockwave called a photo-acoustic wave that propagates even deeper into the tissue. More importantly, these waves can interact with the extracellular matrix, a web of tissue around the tendon/ligament that hold important growth factors. RLT can force these growth factors to be released and absorbed into injured cells when they would NOT have naturally. RLT technology broadens the scope of what can be treated to the more severe pathologies, especially in the ligaments and tendons of the equine athlete. Injuries that will naturally cause scar tissue, which over time will compromise the elasticity of the tendon/ligament, can now be repaired (if caught early).
The laser works by helping to stimulate the body's natural healing ability on a cellular level. This means that while the body is already telling its cells to heal, the laser helps them send out the message to the brain that they need to send more blood and oxygen to those cells so that the injured area sees a reduction in inflammation, increased tissue repair and as a result have an accelerated healing process.
We are often asked if owners can physically see the progress that the laser is making on an injury. The short answer is, “it depends.” If your horse has a deep internal injury, you won’t be able to see much with the naked eye. We can track progress with ultrasound imaging but outside of that, you will be seeing progress based on the increased rate of healing of your horse. If however, a laser is being used on a thickened, visibly swollen part of your horse, then you will be more likely able to see progress as the laser will visually decrease the amount of swelling and thickened skin in the injured area.
Who should get Smart RLT Laser treatments? Realistically any horse who has a soft tissue injury, neck or back pain and arthritis is a candidate for laser treatments. In looking at truly ideal candidates however, there are three categories of horse that would benefit from regenerative laser therapy:
Sports Medicine Horses: We have seen the laser work wonders for our horses who are full time competitors as the laser can help to boost the horses performance over the long term as it helps in promoting tissue healing, reducing inflammation, and ensuring their musculoskeletal health is in excellent shape.
Lameness: Regenerative laser treatments offer a drug free, non-invasive means of treating lameness that is appealing to many horse owners. It allows us, as equine veterinarians, to offer a means of treating lameness that speeds up the healing process and minimizes pain for the horse.
Recovery and Rehabilitation: For horses who have recently had surgery or have sustained a substantial injury the laser is one aspect of a multi-faceted treatment plan that can help to reduce your horses overall pain level, inflammation around the surgery and injury sites and reduce their recovery time. We have seen months be taken off of a horse's overall recovery time by incorporating a laser into a horse's treatment plan.
We generally recommend that horses receive between 10 and 27 laser treatments when being treated for an injury depending on the severity of an injury. If you would like to discuss how the Smart RLT Laser can benefit your horse, give us a call and we would be happy to talk with you.