Why use Prostride or PRP instead of steroids for your horses’ joint injections?
There are a plethora of comparisons that can be made between the biologics, Prostride and PRP, to steroids. Factors such as cost, time of therapeutic onset, lasting effect, and the ability to test for these treatments all influence the decision-making process. Today, we will break down the pros and cons of the biologics- PRP and Prostride, in comparison to steroids for joint injection.
Corticosteroids
Starting with steroids, they are extremely effective at reducing joint inflammation quickly. You will likely see a difference in as little as one week. Steroids may be a better option for your horse if you need them back into competition in a short period of time. On the contrary, steroids are detectable on routine drug screens, so their use may be prohibited by your show organization.
Although steroids offer rapid joint relief, repeated use of steroids can have detrimental effects on synovial structures over time. Plus, the need to re-treat a specific joint in less than a year may warrant the use of a different therapeutic such as a biologic.
Prostride and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
Prostride and PRP are both biologic therapies which means they are harvested from your horses own blood. They are both produced stall-side in 10-20 minutes making them extremely convenient for treatment in the field. Prostride and PRP may take several weeks to have a therapeutic effect, but they have a much longer lasting effect in joints. In fact when we compare joints that have been injected with Prostride vs steroids one year later, the quality of synovial fluid from the Prostride joint is substantially healthier. However, the lasting effects of the biologics come at a cost….
Prostride costs about 1 ½ -3 ½ times more than steroids do to inject a pair of hock joints. The cost of Prostride is limited even further by the product yield produced. For example, one Prostride kit will produce enough to use for about two joints.
PRP has a more conservative price point since one PRP kit can treat about 4 joints for half the cost of Prostride. Neither Prostride nor PRP is detectable on a drug screen because it is made from your horse! Injection of Prostride or PRP does not pose a risk of inducing laminitis like steroids do.
Summary
In a world with so many choices for joint injections, we hope this video will make your decision a little easier. You can hit the QR code below if you would like to request a quote to compare Prostride, PRP, or steroids. You can also contact us if you would like to discuss these therapies.
