Looking for a way to make your competition partner return to the ring faster after an injury or for a way to keep your old campaigner more comfortable? Magna Wave PEMF therapy may be the perfect solution for both equines.
By Sarah E. Coleman
Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field Therapy (PEMF), also commonly called Magna Wave, is relatively new on the equine scene. Magna Wave is one company that manufacturers PEMF machines, and is one of the most common on the market.
“PEMF works on a cellular level to energize ions with increased oxygenation,” explains Emma Lyster of Lyster Equine Therapy in Paris, Ky., “This also pushes out toxins as the cell walls are made more permeable. It makes a significant increase of circulation to help get the blood moving and to reduce clumping of red blood cells, which causes inflammation and bruising.”
What Horses Benefit from Magna Wave?
Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field Therapy (PEMF), also commonly called Magna Wave, is relatively new on the equine scene. Magna Wave is one company that manufacturers PEMF machines, and is one of the most common on the market.
“PEMF works on a cellular level to energize ions with increased oxygenation,” explains Emma Lyster of Lyster Equine Therapy in Paris, Ky., “This also pushes out toxins as the cell walls are made more permeable. It makes a significant increase of circulation to help get the blood moving and to reduce clumping of red blood cells, which causes inflammation and bruising.”
What to Expect From a Treatment
While a session might look a bit odd, with tubes draped or held over the horse in specific areas, the horses seem to truly enjoy their therapy time. “A lot of horses actually fall asleep,” Lyster says. “I have had a lot of clients tell me that their rides the next day have been super relaxed and their horse’s mobility has improved.”
A typical treatment lasts about 30 minutes, though Lyster will go longer depending on what she finds when treating the horse. There are several different machines, she explains, “but usually you only need to treat one area, say a hock, for anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes depending what machine you have and how strong it is.”
The machine makes either a fast or a slow click, depending what setting it is on. “It's not obnoxiously loud,” Lyster says and she hasn’t found it to bother any horses.
While the number of treatments needed depend on the horse and its issues, the use of the Magna Wave can be anywhere from twice a day for a week after the onset of an acute injury (think bowed tendon or facture), or once a week for a month for a full-body treatment.
Who Can Use PEMF Machines?
Though anyone can buy a machine, any therapist who administers a Magna Wave PEMF treatment is certified through Magna Wave, where hands-on training is also required. The training also teaches therapists how to treat different injuries.
One of her most notable clients? “I have a surly gelding I have been treating,” Lyster says, and “he's still in race training and one of those types that doesn't like to be touched or bothered. After my first [Magna Wave PEMF] session, he started to gallop stronger. When I arrived for my second session, he was happy to see me and settled in to enjoy his time. By my third session, he fell asleep instantly and the trainer told me in the two years he has had him, he hasn't seen him nap. Since I have been treating him, he [the trainer] has caught him napping or with stains on him from where he had been laying down.”
In addition to treating horses, Lyster also uses the machine on people and small animals.
Interested in seeing what Magna Wave PEMF might do for you or your horse? Get in touch with Emma via her Facebook page, Lyster Equine Therapy, or call or text her at 859 433-8287.
