{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,30]],"date-time":"2025-12-30T05:21:10Z","timestamp":1767072070454,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,26]],"date-time":"2025-12-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766707200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"This study was funded by the Minister of Science under \u201ethe Regional Initiative of Excellence Program\u201d","award":["This study was funded by the Minister of Science under \u201ethe Regional Initiative of Excellence Program\u201d"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["This study was funded by the Minister of Science under \u201ethe Regional Initiative of Excellence Program\u201d"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Back pain in horses is a frequent musculoskeletal issue that affects performance and welfare. Magnetotherapy has been proposed as a complementary, non-invasive treatment to reduce pain and support soft tissue recovery, but studies in horses remain limited. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effects of low-frequency pulsed magnetic field therapy on horses with hypersensitivity to palpation along the longissimus dorsi muscle. Four recreational horses participated in a 10-session magnetotherapy program, with changes assessed using palpation, neck flexibility tests, heart rate measurements and thermal imaging. Results showed a reduction in pain sensitivity and muscle tension, particularly in the withers, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions. Heart rate decreased after treatment, which may indicate a relaxing effect. Thermal imaging confirmed that magnetotherapy did not increase surface temperature, confirming its non-thermal nature. No adverse effects or swelling were observed in any of the horses. These findings provide preliminary data from this pilot study, suggesting that magnetotherapy may be a beneficial adjunct in the treatment of back pain in horses, promoting relaxation and pain relief without inducing tissue heating. Further research on larger populations with a negative control group is needed to validate these findings and support broader clinical application.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16010077","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,29]],"date-time":"2025-12-29T07:52:59Z","timestamp":1766994779000},"page":"77","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Effect of Magnetotherapy on Back Pain Sensitivity and Muscle Tension in Recreational Horses\u2014A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8017-8594","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ewa","family":"Jastrz\u0119bska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Horse Breeding and Riding, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dominika","family":"Dobbek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Horse Breeding and Riding, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-2716-8267","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Paw\u0142owska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Horse Breeding and Riding, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2042-3306.1979.tb01324.x","article-title":"Back Problems in the Horse\u2014A Look at Past, Present and Future Progress","volume":"11","author":"Jeffcott","year":"1979","journal-title":"Equine Vet. 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