Treatment & Exercise Modalities

Acupuncture in horses is particularly useful in the treatment of chronic back pain. Back pain may present as a change or alteration in performance or a refusal to perform, a change in eating habits or a change in behavior. We will examine your horse completely, formulate a diagnosis, a treatment plan and begin a course of acupuncture therapy which can be continued by your veterinarian or by us, whichever you would prefer.

A standard course of acupuncture for chronic back pain is treatment once weekly for eight weeks. Each treatment takes about ten minutes.

Clinical Faculty
	Name	Title	Phone Number	Email Address
	Benson B. Martin, Jr., VMD, DACVS	Associate Professor of Sports Medicine Director, Jeffords High-speed Treadmill Facility	610-925-6190 (office) 610-925-6831 (fax)	bbm@vet.upenn.edu
	Meagan Smith, DVM, DABVP	Staff Veterinarian in Field Service	610-925-6310 (office)

For information or to schedule an appointment, please contact Kathryn Minacci at 610-925-6490 or via email at sportmed@vet.upenn.edu.

Controlled exercise programs are tailored to your horse’s injury, temperament and stabling facilities in order to obtain the maximal benefit from the rehabilitation program we have designed for your horse.  The controlled exercise programs are designed to return your horse to work in a gradually increasing low level exercise program, encouraging a good quality repair without overloading the injured tissues.  Periodic re-examination is indicated for horses with tendon and ligament injuries to ensure that they are ready to advance to the next exercise level.

Focused high-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy is available to treat a wide variety of equine injuries from bucked shins and saucer fractures to proximal suspensory desmitis and other tendon and ligament injuries.  A series of focused high-energy ultrasound waves are directed into the injured tissue.  For tendon and ligament injuries a series of 3 treatments administered 3 weeks apart is usually recommended.  A single treatment may be all that is needed for a horse with bucked shins or a saucer fracture.

Clinical Faculty
	Name	Title	Phone Number	Email Address
	Virginia Reef, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM	Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professor of Medicine Director of Large Animal Cardiology and Diagnostic Ultrasonography Section Chief, Sports Medicine and Imaging	610-925-6190	vreef@vet.upenn.edu
	Benson B. Martin, Jr., V.M.D., DACVS	Associate Professor, Sports Medicine Director, Jeffords High Speed Treadmill Facility	610-925-6190	bbm@vet.upenn.edu
	Elizabeth J. Davidson, DVM, DACVS	Associate Professor in Sports Medicine	610-925-6190	ejdavid@vet.upenn.edu
	JoAnn Slack,  DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM	Assistant Professor, Ultrasonography and Cardiology	610-925-6190	slackj@vet.upenn.edu

Fellow
	Name	Title	Phone Number	Email Address
	Laura Faulkner, VMD	Fellow, Cardiology	610-925-6190	laurafa@vet.upenn.edu

Technicians
	Name	Title	Phone Number	Email Address
	Gloria Ballinger, LVT	Technician, Sports Medicine	610-925-6359	sportmed@vet.upenn.edu
	Kathryn Minacci	Technician, Sports Medicine	610-925-6490	sportmed@vet.upenn.edu

For information or to schedule an appointment, please call 610-925-6490 or email sportmed@vet.upenn.edu.

Appointments may be made by the owner, trainer or referring veterinarian.