Cold Salt Water Therapy
Cold, salt water has been widely recognized for its healing qualities for hundreds of years. It has been used successfully to treat sore muscles and joints, arthritis, wound healing and skin issues. Many athletes believe it is the key to healing and longevity in sport.
We believe cold, salt water therapy can help heal horses with tendonitis, desmitis, arthritis and wounds as well as skin issues such as scratches. It is an excellent therapy for acute injuries as it helps to relieve inflammation by taking away waste products and bringing in fresh blood supply to accelerate healing. the salt allows the water to stay in a liquid state at a lower temperature without freezing as well as creating a hypertonic solution, which acts as a natural poultice.
With an injury, swelling occurs due to inflamed cells and an abundance of waste products and toxins. Due to the swelling, the capillaries which help to circulate blood, are constricted. This makes it very difficult to remove toxins and bring in new blood for healing. The cold, salt water helps to decrease swelling and therefore, the capillaries are able to dilate which helps remove the toxins and bring in fresh, oxygenated blood.
Cold salt waters' therapeutic treatment lasts approximately 15 minutes and can greatly shorten healing and/or recovery time. It is best used as a preventative treatment. Many professional athletes realize that the key to both success and longevity in any sport is preventative therapies.
After an equine athlete competes and/or has an intense workout, many micro-tears occur. This is a normal result of exercise and therefore must occur for the body to become stronger. The body naturally needs to recover and rest before it can safely compete again without injury. In the case of horse shows, many horses are not able to fully recover before competing again. By accelerating healing and decreasing the recovery time, the cold salt water spa can help greatly decrease the horses chance of injury.
For more information about the cold, salt water spa, please email angie@eclipse-equine.com
