Introducing Skanlab 25 Bodywave from Norway as a New Equine Therapy Instrument in America

Sol  Hauge  Svensson,  Department  of  Biological  Sciences,  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Honor’s  College  Dr.  Thomas  Miles,  Honors  College,  University  of  North  Texas

BACKGROUND

Injuries to the suspensory ligament (SL) and surrounding tendons are the most common leg injuries in horses. Especially prone in performance horses, they may even lead to retirement for young and otherwise healthy animals. Skanlab 25 Bodywave was invented in 1988 in Norway on the basis of the Capacitor Method, and is unique in that it treats a desired tissue with area specific long waves (600m) at a frequency of 0.5 MHz with a special transformer and electrode. This method eliminates any radiation to spread from the treated area. If we can use Skanlab 25 Bodywave in the early detection of lameness or lesions in the connective tissue, it may be a treatment that can prevent possibly career-ending injuries in performance horses.

HYPOTHESIS

I believe that Skanlab 25 Bodywave can be used in equine therapy to treat leg overuse injuries with the same successful result we see in humans, including faster rehabilitation and recovery of the damaged tissue so that they can get back to the competition arena quicker.

Because Skanlab 25 Bodywave is tremendously successful in treating common athletic injuries in the human physiotherapy field in Europe, I think it is time to expand the use of this instrument into the veterinary field as well. The United States has a big performance horse industry where a treatment like Skanlab’s can be especially revolutionary. Tendinitis and desmitis are inflammation and swelling of a tendon or ligament, respectively. Damages to the tendons or ligaments (refer to Figure 1) vary in severity, from a mild sprain to a complete tear. While treatment often can lead to months of box rest, Skanlab’s goal is to decrease the recovery time with maximum healing, all done by the body’s own healing mechanism.

To collect data for this research, I want to treat a number of horses with injuries to their SL with Skanlab for four to six weeks. The total treatment time will last no longer than ten minutes, but the injury needs to be treated consistently every 2-3 days for maximum effect. (Svensson, R., Introduction of Skanlab, 1997)

Variables: Number of treatments, depth of penetration, energy level (intensity)

Comparative study: Ultrasonography and thermography of treatment area before and after on the horses with the SL injuries.

Important factors: The dielectric constant of the electrode, the dielectric constant in the cream/gel, the dielectric constant in the tissue, the location of the electrodes, the distance between the electrodes, the treatment time, and the dosage

METHODS

Figure 2 shows a series of ultrasound images taken of the suspensory ligament before, during and after recovery with the treatment of Skanlab 25 Bodywave.

Referring to Figure 2, the normal treatment and prognoses for this trauma to the SL is usually nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs the first two weeks followed by 3-5 months box rest. The horse pictured above was back in full training after fifty days. The expected result with Skanlab on these sorts of injuries are as follows:

➢Increased temperature in the treated tissue ➢Raised cell metabolic activity ➢Decreased muscle tension ➢Better motility directly after treatment ➢Sound horse at the end of treatment span

Skanlab gives a thermal stimulation of the tissue, increasing the blood flow due to vasodilatation, which in result increases the transfer of metabolites away from the injury site simultaneously while the concentration of white blood cells and antibodies rises. A study in humans showed that the heat generated by Skanlab lasted on average forty-five minutes after ended treatment in the periosteum of the bone, thus facilitating a continued rehabilitation of the tissue. (Rodahl, K., Frøseth, H., et al., 1997)

EXPECTED  RESULTS

UNT  Office  of  the  Provost  UNT  Office  of  Research  and  Economic  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dyson, S. (2007). Diagnosis and management of common suspensory lesions in the forelimbs and hindlimbs of sport horses. Clinical Techniques in Equine

REFERENCES

Figure  1.    Anatomy  of  the  

Figure 2. Left: Horse with a deep damage to its the suspensory ligament, lateral branch, the injury is 8-10 days old. Middle: 22 days later and after 14 Skanlab treatments. Swelling is reduced, less scar tissue. Right: 43 days after the first ultrasound check and 22 Skanlab treatments in total. Ultrasound shows complete recovery of the suspensory ligament branch, not even any scar tissue seems to be present.

EXPECTED  RESULTS  AND  DISCUSSION  

The increase of the temperature in the underlying deep tissue happens with the help of an electrostatic alternating current of 0.5 MHz. This current transmits through the desired tissue as long waves, causing the ions in the cells to move, creating an energy which is expelled as heat. One degree Celsius in temperature increase gives 13% increased metabolism inside the cell, which is a key to faster rehabilitation. (Lehmann J.F. (ed.), 1982) Skanlab enhances the body’s own rehabilitation mechanism for a quicker recovery. If I can get more data by doing more research on the benefits of Skanlab on horses, then eventually this can lead into a different era of treatment not only on horses, but possibly many other species within the veterinary world of medicine.

Figure  3.    Roland  Svensson,  the  physiotherapist  in  Norway  who  started  the  idea  of  using  Skanlab  as  an  equine  therapy,  here  treating  one  of  his  own  horses.