The tack shop next door to the yard where I keep my horse Riley recently purchased a TheraPlate. I had heard of TheraPlate however hadn’t seen it first-hand and as Riley had injured his leg, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to speak to Sally the owner of the tack shop and book a session.
Sally owns Tack Shop 4U and had bought the TheraPlate to be able to offer sessions to her customers horses and for two ponies that she herself owned who had problems with laminitis.
Sally and I with Riley whilst he stood nicely for his TheraPlate treatment
Firstly, what is TheraPlate?
From the UK distributors www.theraplateltd.com ‘TheraPlate is a totally unique therapy platform which uses advanced, patented technology called Vortex Wave Circulation Therapy.
This technology does not create any form of vibration during the process. Vortex Wave Circulation is driven solely by Centrifugal Force – a force that appears to act on a body moving in a circular path and is directed away from the centre around which the body is moving. When the motion created by the platform acts upon the body, the resulting involuntary muscle contraction promotes blood circulation to areas of the body not usually targeted when standing still.
Vortex Wave therapy administered through TheraPlate is seen as an alternative therapy for a variety of chronic conditions and is widely used for rehabilitation and recovery following injury or exertion.’
What is TheraPlate used for?
The following list of benefits has been taken with kind permission from the www.theraplate.com website:
Increasing circulation
Increasing bone strength and density
Increasing Muscle Mass
Reducing swelling and inflammation
Reducing injuries
Speeding healing time
Improving joint health and function
Improving balance
Preventing injuries
Relieving pain
Increasing hoof growth
Warm up and cool down
Now to my experience with Riley.
Whilst I thought a session would benefit Riley, I was concerned about him standing still on the plate for the required twenty minutes. Sally assured me that he could step on and off as he needed.
I was interested to see how Riley would benefit from using the Theraplate although was nervous that he wouldn’t stand on it. I needn’t have worried. He seemed to enjoy it and was very relaxed
The TheraPlate has a lot of different programmes depending on the concerns of the horse. Sally asked a few questions and was aware of his recovering leg and decided the programme for arthritis, stiffness and joints would be most appropriate. This consisted of varying levels of intensity for the twenty minutes.
Riley stepped onto the plate without any fuss and stood without moving on the low level and didn’t seem to mind the medium level however whenever he reached the highest level he became unsure although I think that may have been more to do with the noise than what was happening underfoot. He did step off a couple of times on the highest level but I just brought him back round and he stepped on again and then Sally took the decision not to put it up to the highest level again. Overall I was surprised how well he had stood for the twenty minutes and towards the end he became very relaxed and almost sleepy.
Would I use the TheraPlate again?
Riley certainly seemed to enjoy his session and as the results are supported by scientific data, I will definitely sign him up for further sessions.
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