A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine in Sport and Companion Animals: Soft Tissue Mobilization

Abstract

Soft tissue mobilization is frequently used in the treatment of sport and companion animals. There is, however, uncertainty regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of these methods. Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review was to assess the evidence for clinical effects of massage and stretching in cats, dogs, and horses. A bibliographic search, restricted to studies in cats, dogs, and horses, was performed on Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed. Relevant articles were assessed for scientific quality, and information was extracted on study characteristics, species, type of treatment, indication, and treatment effects. Of 1189 unique publications screened, 11 were eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed as high in eight of the studies and moderate in three of the studies, two of the latter indicating a decreased heart rate after massage. There was considerable heterogeneity in reported treatment effects. Therefore, the scientific evidence is not strong enough to define the clinical efficacy and effectiveness of massage and stretching in sport and companion animals.

Allogeneic chondrogenic‐induced mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of tarsometatarsal lameness in horses

“…Instead, in the absence of a generally accepted ‘gold standard’, the rehabilitation program followed standard textbook recommendations 5 . The importance of a period of physical rehabilitation involving exercise, strength training and manual therapy following treatment and rest for orthopedic injury and disease is well established in man but the advantages are less well defined in horses 35 …”

“…5 The importance of a period of physical rehabilitation involving exercise, strength training and manual therapy following treatment and rest for orthopedic injury and disease is well established in man but the advantages are less well defined in horses. 35 The distal tarsal joints consist of the TMT and CD joints, two structures with direct physical communication in around one third of horses, 36 but between which both local anesthetic and corticosteroids have been shown to diffuse in therapeutic quantities in all horses. 37,38 There is debate as to the rates of communication and whether they differ in vivo, some studies having been carried out postmortem.…”

“…No horses in either group were reported by owners to have experienced any detectable adverse reaction to treatment. First re-examination was 38 days (95% CI: 38-49), with no difference between groups: CIMSC 42 (35-45), control 34(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42), p = 0.11. All CIMSC horses and 79 controls F I G U R E 1 Violin plot showing the range of radiographic severity for the 67 horses treated with chondrocyte-induced mesenchymal stem cells (CIMSC) and 100 control horses treated with intra-articular corticosteroids.…”