10/04/2022
Thermal Imaging
Thermography presents a noninvasive, safe, and cost-effective diagnostic imaging modality (on average, $350 for a whole horse scan and interpretation) that is a valuable complementary tool in equine health care.
So how does thermography work? The thermographic camera detects infrared waves on the body surface that are invisible to the human eye and converts them to an image we can see. Consider what happens when you injure yourself: You bang your knee; the area becomes hot, red, and inflamed; and at a cellular level as an immune response, the body releases chemicals such as histamine. Changes in blood flow might directly correlate with inflammation. Thus, at the most basic level, where there is increased circulation there might be inflammation (becoming warmer). The opposite is also true: With chronic disease, scarring, atrophy (muscle wasting/loss), nerve damage, or disuse, areas might become cooler.
Performance-limiting or career-ending conditions such as kissing spines, tendon/ligament problems, and soreness from poorly fitted saddles, hoof abnormalities, arthritis, and cervical injuries all produce patterning detectable with thermographic cameras. Thus, thermography has wide applications such as for lameness localization, saddle-fitting evaluation, prepurchase evaluations, shoeing and trimming assessment, arthritis detection, pre- and post-chiropractic or acupuncture or massage treatment/evaluation, serial assessment of soft-tissue healing, tendon/ligament evaluation, and more. Researchers have shown that they can use thermography to detect tendon/ligament injuries up to two weeks prior to evidence of clinical lameness, as well as subclinical hock inflammation prior to bony changes.
Introductory price for this weekend only we will be set up all weekend at Lucky Dog!!!
Early detection=early prevention😁😁