Soft Tissue Inflammation is Like a Small Brush Fire!

cooling equine leg Cold Therapy For Prevention of Serious Leg Injuries

One of the most effective and certainly least costly methods of equine physical therapy is the routine use of cold therapy on a regular basis. The goal is to immediately apply cold therapy for post exercise cooling of the distal limbs of the horse.

There are two very sound reasons for this according to equine veterinarians.

First, inflammation is a normal sequel to physical exercise. The legs of the horse are the primary sites for exercise induced inflammation. This inflammatory cascade is like a small brush fire. If you do not snuff it out quickly it will eventually flare up to a major blaze and become more difficult to control.”
Secondly, too much heat is damaging to tendons. In veterinary studies of tendons, exercise decreased pH, and increased core temperatures of the tendons beyond physiologically healthy limits. This heat and the lowered pH lead directly to the breakdown of tendon fiber.”

Cold Therapy for Treatment to Relieve Pain

In the case of injury, other veterinary studies report that tissues release chemicals and vaso active substances (cytokines, prostaglandins, and leukotines) that produce a cascade effect of reactions which ultimately result in localized swelling, heat and pain.

Rapidly applying cold therapy to tissue injury limits the inflammatory response by causing the blood vessels to constrict by the process called vasoconstriction. This limits the blood flow to the injured site, moderating the release of the vasoactive substances and as a result, minimizes the pain and swelling in the afflicted area.

Cold Therapy to Control Swelling

After tissue injury there is an immediate chemical reaction at the cellular level. This reaction releases prostoglandins and histamines in the injured area. Damaged capillaries leak cellular waste (water, dissolved electrolytes and proteins) into the surrounding tissue.

The body then sends scavenger cells into the area to remove damaged tissue or to kill bacteria that could be present, say from an open wound. Once the process starts, fluids build in the intercellular spaces causing swelling. (Edema) Cold therapy can be used in the repair phase after soft tissue injuries between 48 hours and six weeks after injury.