ABSTRACT
Physiotherapy has over the years become assimilated within sports medicine, which has itself had to evolve rapidly to keep pace with the ever increasing demands of competition. The powerful pressures presently exerted on horses are taking their ability to perform to its physiological limits, as can be seen from the frequent appearance of lesions and scarring, with the inevitable sequelae. Traces of earlier injuries are retained almost indefinitely by the locomotor apparatus, and while there have been considerable advances in diagnostic methods, these have not been accompanied by comparable improvements in medical and surgical treatment. It is in this area that physiotherapy can provide important support, as treatment focuses not only on the lesion itself, but on the overall impact it is having on locomotion. It offers a global approach, improving the speed of repair and enhancing the patient’s ability to tolerate locomotor problems which may present a number of aspects.
