Equine Hydrotherapy:

How equine hydrotherapy works.

EQUINE HYDROTHERAPY SPA treatments work through a combination of factors.

To understand how cold sea water hydrotherapy works we firstly need to appreciate how the body reacts to injuries such as bruising, wounds and strains etc.

When cells within the body are damaged, enzymes and proteins are released causing the blood vessel walls in that vicinity to dilate and become more porous.

The site of the trauma is then targeted by lymphocytes passing through the porous membranes and entering the injured tissues to begin fighting the infection.

Fluids, rich in oxygen and proteins to facilitate tissue repair, also pool around the injured area. At the same time hormones are secreted which trigger the pain response.

Depending on the degree of injury, pain, heat and swelling will be evident. Pain helps prevent overuse of the affected area. Heat results from the increased blood flow to the injury site, and swelling (or oedema) helps immobilise the area.

All these reactions appear beneficial, however, if this process is over zealous, the swollen tissues and extra fluid actually rupture healthy surrounding tissue not damaged in the original injury.

This secondary damage is called hypoxic injury which can compound the problem. In addition, blood vessels in the area are put under increasing pressure by the fluid build up, so reducing the flow of blood and lymph fluids.

The safest way to break the destructive cycle of secondary cell injury and excess oedema is to use the horse’s circulatory system to sweep away excess fluids that have collected in the tissues.

While anti-inflammatory agents like bute can reduce swelling and heat, they also can mask pain and confuse the diagnostic picture. There are two natural ways of encouraging the dispersal of excess fluids - applying heat, and applying cold.

Heat, however, should never be applied to an acute injury which leaves us with having to apply cold in many cases.

Why not just cold hose legs?

Cold water hosing, a common method of treating inflammation, cools the skin surface, but the temperature is uncontrolled and might not be cold enough to affect the structures most often involved in injury.

Also there is no drawing effect as the solution is not saline, and the dissolved oxygen content will be lower than in the equine spa.

The Equine Spa achieves fast, long term hydrotherapy treatment through a combination of various factors:

Cold water
Aeration (providing a massage element)
Salt (established in general healing and as a poultice drawing out fluid)
Variable depth option for accurate treatment

Clinical trials have shown that all of these together provide an unusually high level of oxygen in the water, which is thought to aid healing further still.

Crucial is the ultra-cool temperature and strong salinity of the water, which together, improve upon the therapeutic qualities of either sea water or running fresh water in their natural states.

For details on the use of cryotherapy for sports injuries in humans please visit
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