01/19/2026
I get asked this often.
When I see persistent lower back and SI discomfort, I will recommend you see your vet to check the joints.
𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡 #𝟏: Once you start joint injections, you must continue them forever.
Although this idea was more prevalent in the past, veterinary medicine has made remarkable progress. Today high-quality diagnostic tools enable us to detect joint changes, soft tissue injuries and early arthritis sooner than ever before. These advancements align with significant improvements in nutrition, rehabilitation strategies and therapeutic aids.
Joint injections no longer represent a one-way path or a lifelong obligation. When applied correctly, they form one part of a comprehensive management plan. On top of that veterinarians now offer a broad array of options:
- 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬
- 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐬
- 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐬
- 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬
Each of these plays a role in caring for performance horses. Treatments can be customized to the specific horse, joint, diagnosis and disease stage. Early detection often leads to improved long-term results and reduced need for repeat procedures.
This brings us to...
𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡 #𝟐: You shouldn’t inject young horses.
We have seen a lot of success injecting horses at the beginning of their careers and often when we treat a joint early we are able to halt degeneration of that joint.
For those who believe joint injections should be delayed based solely on a horse’s age, it’s important to recognize that postponing treatment for joint pain/inflammation can allow the problem to progress. As discomfort increases, horses often begin to compensate - shifting load to other limbs or joints - to protect the affected area. Over time, this compensation can lead to secondary lameness and involvement of additional joints - turning a single, manageable issue into a more complex, multi-joint problem. In these cases, treatment may ultimately need to be more frequent and more extensive than if the issue had been addressed earlier.
𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
