1. Introduction

2. How the VibraVM Can Help Alleviate Respiratory Conditions and Improve Blood Oxygen Exchange.

3. Appendix

I. Introduction

Oxygen is one of the key components not only for sustaining life, but also for optimum muscle usage and energy levels. Healthy lungs are critical for achieving maximum blood oxygen exchange, thus providing a good oxygen supply to the muscles, which leads to high performance. There are other factors for high performance, such as the horse’s feed or fuel supply, good circulation, good overall balanced body mechanics, and adequate antioxidant supply. This paper will concentrate on the oxygen supply and more specifically on the blood oxygen exchange which happens in the smallest part of the lungs, the alveoli.

Conversely, common respiratory conditions cause respiratory insufficiency, i.e., poor blood oxygen exchange, leading to lethargy, general malaise, exercise intolerance, and the inability of the muscles to function optimally. These are COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) also known as “heaves”, or “broken wind”, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, influenza, sinusitis, barn cough, and emphysema. The VibraVM has shown anecdotally and in case studies to help remove mucus from the lungs, which improves lung function and helps restore maximum blood oxygen exchange.

There are many factors and causes for either acute or chronic conditions affecting equine respiration. This paper will look at the physiological changes these conditions cause and how the VibraVM can help to alleviate them.

II. How the VibraVM Can Help Alleviate Respiratory Conditions and Improve Blood Oxygen Exchange.

The common respiratory conditions mentioned above interrupt or impede air flow to the alveoli, which also impedes blood oxygenation, because if oxygen does not reach the alveoli it cannot be transported into the blood.Many respiratory conditions have symptoms of coughing, “heaving”, or mucopurulent nasal discharge. There may be abnormal lung sounds, especially wheezing as the disease progresses. Horses with such respiratory conditions often show labored or painful breathing, exercise intolerance, decline in performance, loss of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, or general malaise. These respiratory problems may cause several effects. First, many of these conditions cause inflammation, i.e. thickening of the airway walls, which causes obstruction of normal air flow during breathing. Second, thick mucus plugs form which closes the bronchioles, cutting off fresh air supply to the alveoli. Alveoli are the smallest of the lung structures, which has a one cell wide membrane where the oxygen exchanges with the spent gases from metabolic processes. This mucus is the medium where diseases proliferate. Third, a layer of mucus may line the airways, covering the cilia. This restricts its movement and prevents mucus from being expelled from the respiratory system. Finally, the little long smooth muscles of the airways themselves may constrict and spasm.In a horse experiencing COPD, breathing becomes more difficult, as the smooth muscle contraction can substantially narrow the airways. The thicker airway walls along with the contraction and with accumulated mucus further decreases the diameter of the air passages and increases the effort required to breathe. This increases the work of breathing, causing the horse to exert an abdominal push to force air out through the narrowed airways.¹ This exertion causes “heave lines” to develop in the muscles on each side of the horse’s barrel along the lower edge of the abdomen.In the same way a whistle works, as the passages narrow wheezing can be heard as the air escapes through a much smaller opening.² The wheezing will have one or more frequencies due to one or more mucus plugs.The VibraVM can help alleviate heaves by breaking up the mucus plugs, liquefying them so the horse can expel them through the nature mechanism of cilia movement and coughing.  The VibraVM unit emits sound waves, i.e. frequencies, in the range of the wheezing.  The device delivers the sound waves through the nose piece or the nose mask.  The nose piece is inserted into either of the horse’s nostrils while the nose mask, a cup type attachment, is held over the nostril with gentle pressure applied to form a seal if possible.  Both deliver the sound well, so it is just a matter of preference for you and your animal.  Amazingly enough, almost all horses will acclimate fairly quickly to the device.The Operation of the VibraVM:  The Low Mode or range of frequencies is used for large animals.  These are in the range of 50 Hz to 207.6 Hz.  (The overlapping high range is for small animals, 69.3 Hz to 659.3 Hz.)  Low or High Mode starts at its lowest frequency, with a small range of frequencies being emitted, which is four pitches to be exact with about a half second pause between each one.  On a musical scale a half-tone is a pitch.  After 20 seconds of this series, the pitch is increased by one pitch and a series of four pitches with pauses is emitted.  This process continues through the range of frequencies, for a complete treatment which takes seven minutes.  By going through this range of frequencies there will be a frequency or frequencies which will resonate with the mucus plugs.  To understand how sound waves can break up a mucus plug, it is helpful to also understand what resonance is.   Understanding Resonance:  If you had a guitar, which commonly has one string tuned to G, near a piano and someone hit the piano's G key, the guitar's G-string  would begin to vibrate.  The sound from the G key on the piano is acoustic energy, traveling as waves through the air.  As that energy is absorbed by the guitar's G-string, it will begin to vibrate.  This is known as resonance, i.e. the G-string is resonating at the same frequency as the sound from the piano.  Note that strings with other (non-harmonic) tunings do not vibrate.  As the sound waves from the VibraVM unit travel down the airways and encounter a mucus plug and those sound waves are the same frequency as the wheezing, the mucus plug will begin to vibrate.  The muscles of the airway will either not vibrate or vibrate at a different frequency due to differences in structure, density, viscosity, etc.  Now the mucus plug is vibrating and the surrounding tissue is not vibrating or vibrating at a different rate.  As the mucus plugs vibrate, sheer forces are created, causing the mucus plugs to break up (become bubbly) and liquefy.   By loosening and liquefying the mucus, the cilia transport system can properly function again, transporting the bubbly liquefied mucus up and out of the airways of the lungs where it will be coughed up, sneezed out, or swallowed.  Generally there will be immediate visible results, especially sneezing, and improvement in the horse’s breathing, leading over time to improvement in its performance and well being. The VibraVM has another mode called Massage which will also help alleviate severely constricted airways.  In Massage Mode, white noise is emitted.  This is randomly generated sound waves between 30 Hz and 3,000 Hz in frequency.The Massage Mode acts as a bronchial dilator using white noise to massage and relax the long smooth bronchiolar muscles, allowing them to relax and open up thus restoring air movement and restoring oxygen to the alveoli.  Our research shows that use of two to three minutes of Massage Mode following the full seven minute Low Mode treatment is especially effective.  After clearing out mucus with the Low Mode treatment, Massage Mode helps the airways which were so constricted to relax and helps the horse to relax and feel better. In general, it will take a period of time with repeated treatments to completely clear all the mucus from the lungs.  If the condition is severe and established for a long time it may take several months to clear the lungs.  In general, start with two treatments a day.  Please see “Equine User Protocols” for more treatment details. Generally, the number of treatments and times per week decrease over time to a maintenance protocol.  Due to the many possible causes of respiratory insufficiency and for chronic conditions, ongoing treatments can help keep the horse’s lungs healthy.  Further research will determine how lung scar tissue and interstitial lung disease may impact the effectiveness of the VibraVM treatment. 

Chronic alveolar emphysema generally can be the result of the long term effects of other chronic lung aliments, due to the over distension of the alveoli until there is complete loss of elasticity.3  The VibraVM’s sound vibrations themselves may have an effect of bringing elasticity back into the lung structures.  In one case of emphysema there were no air movement sounds in the lowest lobe of the lungs, and after several treatments the air movement sounds could be heard with the stethoscope.

For a very good, informative article on COPD/Heaves, please see:

http://old.cvm.msu.edu/RESEARCH/PULMON/site/respiratory_diseases/diseases/Heaves/Heaves.html

This article is from the Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Pulmonary Laboratory. Their website is being updated, so this link will change in the future.

Bibliography

1. Baker, Rachele J., CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
"HEAVES" - "BROKEN WIND" - "COPD", Equine Pulmonary Laboratory, Michigan State University.

http://old.cvm.msu.edu/RESEARCH/PULMON/site/respiratory_diseases/diseases/Heaves/mainFrame.html

This article reference is from the Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Pulmonary Laboratory. Their website is being updated, so this link will change in the future.

2. Unknown, How a Whistle Works, American Whistle Corporation, http://www.americanwhistle.com/how.html

3. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Diseases of the Respiratory System, Principles of Respiratory Insufficiency, Assiut University, Egypt, http://www.developmentvet.aun.edu.eg/1.pdf

V1.1.4   Updated 7/16/08