REVIEW article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Regenerative Medicine
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Equine Musculoskeletal Disorders: From Biological Mechanisms to Clinical Applications
Provisionally accepted
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
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Musculoskeletal injuries represent a primary cause of suboptimal performance and early retirement in equine athletes. To address this challenge, the veterinary community has long endeavored to develop safer and more effective therapeutic strategies. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), as a treatment for equine musculoskeletal injuries, has garnered substantial attention among equine veterinarians. Focused on the theme ESWT Therapy for Equine Musculoskeletal Disorders: From biological mechanisms to clinical applications, this article systematically reviews existing literature on the biological effects of ESWT—including analgesia, anti-inflammation, and autologous repair— mediated through diverse signaling pathways and factors. It synthesizes the current status of clinical applications and underlying mechanisms of ESWT in managing equine musculoskeletal conditions such as suspensory desmitis, superficial digital flexor tendinitis, osteoarthritis, navicular syndrome, and back pain syndrome. Additionally, the article summarizes relevant parameters for ESWT in treating different injuries, offering a reference for clinical equine veterinarians.
Keywords: Biological Mechanisms, clinical application, equine musculoskeletal injuries, Extracorporeal shock wave therapy, horse
Received: 06 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qiu, Wang, Zhang, Liu, Wei and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tianwen Ma
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