Member Article

Neigh pain neigh gain - horses for courses

Due to increasing demand by equine professionals and horse trainers, the first ever UK Kinesio Taping course for horses is being held at Hartbury College in Gloucester on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th January. The course is now fully booked and there is a waiting list for the next. Only qualified equine physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths are eligible to attend.

Kinesio Taping - the brightly coloured therapeutic tape beloved by athletes - was brought to the world stage at the London 2012 Olympics, but for many years in the US, it’s also been used very effectively to help reduce swelling, bruising and injuries on horses – particularly race horses and eventers.

The company’s UK Head Office is at Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside.

Darlington-based Chartered Physiotherapist Lee Clark will be leading the new Kinesio Equine course. Lee works with both humans and horses and was chosen to be one of the elite, eight strong Olympic team of Equine Physiotherapists working at London 2012.

Lee Clark is the official physiotherapist for the British Endurance Team (he treats both the horses and their riders) and is a strong advocate of the benefits of Kinesio Taping for horses. He specialises in back pain and tendon/ligament injuries and treats racehorses, eventers, show jumpers, dressage and family horses all over the country, as well as abroad.

Lee says: ’Typical scenarios where Kinesio will help a horse recover include muscular, tendon or ligament injury, muscle spasms, or muscle weakness after an operation or if a horse has had prolonged stable rest. Kinesio is also excellent for helping reducing scar tissue and helping reduce swelling or inflammation.

‘I mainly usually use Kinesio in conjunction with other therapies such as manual therapy, electrotherapy and massage but there’s no doubt at all that its application - as long as it’s applied by a professional and qualified practitioner - speeds up recovery in horses. Because Kinesio is lightweight, non-restrictive and fully waterproof, it also means it is comfortable for horses and they aren’t distressed whilst wearing it.’

Two recent scenarios where Lee has used Kinesio Taping to help recovery in horses include:

• An event horse after surgery for ‘kissing spine’. This is a fairly common, painful equine condition often caused by an ill-fitting saddle where the bony ‘spines’ at the top of the horse’s vertebrae start to rub together, causing pain and swelling, especially on moving. This horse is now almost back to normal after around five weeks of treatment.
• Elongated tendons in a foal. A common problem in new born foals where they rest their legs (fetlocks) on the ground rather than their hooves, leading to poor gait as they mature. Applying Kinesio Tape can help the contraction of the tendon as the foal grows. Lee successfully worked with a foal born in 2012 with this condition.

Kevin Anderson, Managing Director Kinesio UK, says: “Kinesio Taping has been used in the NHS for the effective treatment of Lymphodema - swelling of the arms, hands and legs for many years and we know it’s particularly helpful in reducing pain and swelling in everyday sprains and muscle injuries. However it’s fantastic that it’s been proven to be so successful in the treatment of animal injuries too. The ability to move freely when you’re wearing Kinesio Taping is a great advantage which is why sporting celebrities are so keen on it as you can still train whilst wearing it. For the same reason it’s great for children too, who can never usually keep still, and that’s one of the reasons that Boots have introduced it in pre-cut form for all the family.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Slater .