Effects of radial shockwave therapy on the limb function of dogs with hip osteoarthritis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of extracorporeal radial shock wave therapy on the hindlimb function of dogs suffering from hip osteoarthritis. Twenty-four client-owned dogs with hip osteoarthritis were investigated; 18 of them received radial shockwave therapy and six were left untreated as controls. Force plate analysis on a treadmill was used to assess the dogs' hindlimb function before treatment and four weeks after the last treatment, and the treated dogs were re-evaluated three and six months after the treatment. The parameters chosen for evaluation were peak vertical force and vertical impulse, and the calculated symmetry indices. In the treated dogs, differences between the ground reaction forces exerted by the right and left hindlegs disappeared four weeks after the treatment, whereas in the control dogs only the peak vertical force distribution changed significantly. The significant improvement in the treated dogs was confirmed by changes in the symmetry indices. Significant improvements in vertical impulse and peak vertical force were observed three months after the treatment.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Shows Regression of Osteoarthritis of the Knee in Rats

“…Frisbie et al [15] reported that ESWT significantly improved the degrees of lameness in horse, but no disease modifying effects as evidenced by synovial fluid analysis, synovial membrane, or cartilage. Mueller et al [16] demonstrated that ESWT significantly improved the limb function of dogs with hip osteoarthritis with the difference in ground reaction force between two limbs disappeared in four weeks after treatment. Ochiai et al [17] showed that ESWT is a useful treatment for knee OA with improvement in walking ability and reduction of calcitonin generelated peptide (CGRP) in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons innervating the knee.…”

2015 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

“…Energy-based modalities are also often employed, including neuromuscular electrical stimulation, trans cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, cryotherapy with and without compression, therapeutic ultrasound, therapeutic laser and extracorporeal shockwave therapy. [104][105][106][107][108] Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is increasingly recognized as an important comorbidity in many chronic pain cases in animals. MPS is acknowledged for the important role it plays in the pathology of DJD, repetitive strain injuries in performance dogs, or as a sequela to orthopedic surgery.…”

Next-generation Sequencing Identifies Articular Cartilage and Subchondral Bone Mirnas after ESWT on Early Osteoarthritis Knee

“…ESWT has shown effectiveness in many orthopedic disorders including soft tissue tendinopathy and non-union of long bone fractures [12,13]. In addition, many studies including ours reported positive effects of ESWT in various arthritic joints in animals [14][15][16][17][18]. Our previous studies demonstrated that ESWT is chondroprotective in the initiation of OA changes of the knee [19,20], and induces regression or retardation of established OA changes of the knee in rats [21].…”