The Use of Far Infrared Treatment Prior to Exercise in Horses: An mfBIA and Acoustic Myography Three Case Study

Background: Acute effects of Far Infrared (FIR) treatment in horses are unknown, especially short periods of 30 minutes, as is any effect on such muscle parameters as warm-up balance, overall exercise balance and laterality asymmetries. Aim: This study examines three equine cases in detail to measure any effects of a short period of FIR treatment. Methods: Multi-frequency bioimpedance (mfBIA) and acoustic myography (AMG), non-invasive techniques, were applied pre- and post-treatment with FIR to the back (T5-L4/5) and for m.Longissimus dorsi and m.Gluteus medius was recorded during a 15-minute warm-up regimen. mfBIA parameters included extracellular resistance (Re), centre frequency (fc), membrane capacitance (Mc), intracellular resistance (Ri) and phase angle (PA) which indicates level of training and health status. Results: FIR treatment responses for mfBIA parameters were found to be horse-specific and different, whilst in terms of AMG, FIR treatment for 30 minutes had a beneficial effect on overall balance in all three horses (5 out of 6 muscles), and a beneficial effect on the AMG parameter ST (force symmetry) in all three horses (6 out of 6 muscles). An overall improvement for combined balance and ST values for both muscles and all three horses of 86% was noted with FIR treatment, compared to 56% without. Conclusions: This preliminary study of FIR treatment in three horses, has been found to result in an overall improvement in combined balance and ST values for both muscles. FIR has potential as a promising treatment to reduce the risk of warm-up-related injuries in athletic horses.