Lodi Veterinary Care is excited to now offer the latest in regenerative medicine, a treatment called Pro-Stride. Pro-Stride is an Autologous (meaning of the same individual) Protein Solution used to treat joint inflammation and arthritis. It is created by collecting blood from your own horse, and then processing and centrifuging that blood to make a very concentrated solution containing important healing factors (cells, platelets, growth factors, and anti-inflammatory proteins such as Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein, or IRAP). This solution is then administered via joint injection where it works by blocking inflammatory proteins, called cytokines, within the joint. Left unblocked, these inflammatory cytokines contribute to an inflammatory cascade that results in cartilage breakdown, pain, and reduced function.
Pro-Stride is a natural, steroid-free treatment that has no drug withholding times for horses competing at the FEI or USEF levels. Because Pro-Stride is a steroid free treatment it does not have the negative side-effects that may be associated with traditional joint injections and it is safe for use in adolescent horses, horses prone to laminitis, or horses with Cushings Disease, Insulin Resistance, or Equine Metabolic Syndrome.
The entire process from blood collection to treatment injection takes less than one hour and is completed on the farm. In studies, this new regenerative treatment has provided up to one year of pain relief from a single treatment (A. Bertone, Am J Vet Res 2014; 75:141-151).