Recognising and understanding soft tissue injuries Flashcards
What happen to COMP and crimp in tendons as horses age
reduce so tendons become less elastic
where do most of SDFT injuries occur
the mid metacarpal region of the forelimb
Where do most DDFT injuries occur
within the digital flexor tendon sheath, pastern or within the hoof.
where do most suspensory ligament injuries occur
at the proximal origin or at the branches of insertion onto the proximal sesamoid bones.
where does the inferior check ligament generally get ingured
easily palpated in the proximal third of the forelimb metacarpus, usually larger on the lateral side.
why are hindlimb inferior check ligament injuries rare in hindlimbs
because check ligament is small or not there at all in some horses
describe a interference/ overreach injuries
Horses at speed can strike a loaded forelimb with a rapidly protracting hind limb leading to acute damage of a previously normal soft tissue
describe how should you train competitive horses
An established horse should not be routinely trained at or above the expectations of the horse during competition
what can reduce interference injuries
solid boots reduce the risk of direct trauma
what is a disadvantage of using boots
could increase the physiological heating effect- causing more damage to the tendon through denaturing protein
Describe how diagnose SDFT injury
by palpation/ visual inspection
characteristic ‘palmar bow’
heat pain swelling resentment of palpation
List the clinical signs of tendon injury in inflammatory phase (days)
lameness
pain on palpation
heat
swelling
What do you see with tendon injuries during the reparative/ proliferative phase (weeks)
Reduction or absenceof lameness
Resolution of signs ofinflammation
Tendon still palpablyenlarged and soft
Signs of re-injury ifexercised too early
what happened in the tendon remodelling/ maturation phase (months)
Tendon size decreases
Tendon less pliable
Reduced fetlock extension
Contractures
Describe the pathology of the remodelling/ maturation phase of tendon injury
Collagen transformation fromIII to I
Cross-linking
Thicker collagen fibrils
