Did you know that acupuncture can be used to help treat shoulder sweeney?
Shoulder sweeney is a condition affecting the shoulder muscles of the horse where these muscles become atrophied. It is typically caused by damage to the suprascapular nerve where it runs relatively superficially across the front of the horse’s shoulder joint. This nerve innervates muscles in the horse’s shoulder, so when the nerve is damaged, these muscles stop working and start to waste away.
Electroacupuncture is a helpful modality in the treatment of shoulder sweeney and a session is seen here on a yearling that injured his shoulder by going through a fence several weeks ago.
This sweet older mare, Trixie, has been going through a lot of lameness issues in both the front and back end over the last six months. Chiropractic work can’t directly help what she has going on in her legs, but it has been hugely helpful in keeping her body more comfortable.
Here is a clip the owner took of her back and pelvis being motioned (checking the mobility of each joint) and a few adjustments being performed.
It’s a little bit wet out here today, so we are rescheduling appointments for the rest of the day. Until drier times, my friends!
This mare really enjoyed her acupuncture today! Yawning is a form of release, which demonstrates that the horse is appreciative of what I am doing and some tension has been released. As you can see in the video in the comments, electroacupuncture can cause muscle contraction/twitching. Not all horses tolerate this, so the intensity can be kept at a lower setting so as not to cause twitching as well.
