Ultrasound Guided Injections!
Injections of certain regions of the horse are often aided by guidance using an ultrasound, either for confirmation of location when injecting, or as a diagnostic tool. In this video the medial compartment of the femorotibial joint of the stifle is being treated with a regenerative product. Other common locations where ultrasound is used to aid in treatment include the sacroiliac joint, cervical facets, thoracolumbar facets, the shoulder (scapulohumeral joint), the bicipital bursa, and intralesional treatments in tendons and ligaments.
🌷Spring is around the corner, it’s time to get prepared for deworming season! Annual fecal egg counts are recommended so that deworming recommendations can be tailored to your horses individual needs. Consult with your veterinarian for specific guidance. 💩🪱 Be sure to always set the dial on your deworming paste to your horses approximate weight, and *pro tip* before actually administering the dewormer place the syringe in your horses mouth causing them to spit out any food first so that the paste sticks to their tongue.
✨What is Pro-Stride?
Pro-Stride is an autologous protein solution (APS) used primarily for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses. Following veterinary diagnosis of osteoarthritis and depending on various factors of an individual case, intra-articular injection with Pro-Stride may be recommended as one aspect of your horses comfort or performance management. Pro-Stride is a highly concentrated mixture of select cells, growth factors and anti-inflammatory proteins that when administered into a diseased joint reduces pain and promotes a healthier environment. It can be an especially good choice in cases that are refractory to other treatment options, cases with a closely associated soft tissue injury, and in cases where underlying endocrine disorders increase adverse steroid associated risks.
“Autologous” means obtained from the same individual. To create Pro-Stride (as seen in the video), following sterile preparation, blood is collected from the jugular vein of the horse that the end product is intended for and placed in a two step sterile kit and centrifuged twice. The resulting solution is then (again following sterile preparation) injected directly into the problem area(s) of the same horse.
For the science nerds 🤓 out there, here are a few of the most important components of ProStride: platelet derived growth factors such as PDGF, VEGF, etc., and cytokines such as IL-1ra (IRAP), alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M), sIL-1R, sTNF-R’s, and more!
