Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horses with tarsal ligament injuries can return to normal work
By Fraschetto, Claudia et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2023·1Center of Imaging and Research on the Equine Locomotor Injuries, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Conservative management of equine tarsal collateral ligament injuries may allow return to normal performance.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A group of 78 horses, mostly around 7 years old, were diagnosed with injuries to their tarsal collateral ligaments after being examined with ultrasound. Many of these horses had a single ligament injury, while some had multiple ligaments affected. The main treatment involved stall rest for about four months, and most horses were able to return to work within six months. In fact, many were performing at the same or even better levels than before their injuries. This shows that with proper care, horses can recover well from these types of ligament injuries.
People also search for: horse tarsal ligament injury treatment · how long for horse ligament injury recovery · horse performance after ligament injury
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe type and distribution of tarsal collateral ligament (CL) injuries and to assess the long-term outcome in horses treated conservatively. ANIMALS: 78 horses (median age, 7 years [IQR, 4 to 9.75 years]) of different breeds and disciplines. PROCEDURES: Retrospective analysis (2000 through 2020) of horses with tarsal CL lesions diagnosed on ultrasound. The resting time, ability to return to work, and performance level after the injury were compared between horses having a single ligament (group S) or multiple ligaments (group M) affected and according to the case severity. RESULTS: Most of the horses (57/78) presented a single CL injury, while 21 had multiple CLs affected simultaneously, for a total of 108 CLs injured and 111 lesions. In both groups, the short lateral CL (SLCL) was the most commonly affected (44/108), followed by the long medial CL (LMCL; 27/108). Enthesopathies (72.1%) were more frequent than desmopathies alone (27.9%) and involved mostly the proximal insertion of the SLCL and the distal attachment of the LMCL. Conservative treatment (n = 62) consisted mainly of stall rest. The median resting time (120 days [IQR, 60 to 180 days]) did not significantly differ between the 2 groups (group S vs M) or according to the severity. Most horses (50/62) were able to return to work within 6 months. Horses that did not return (12/62) were more likely to have severe lesions (P = .01). Thirty-eight horses were able to perform at a level equal to or higher than before the injury. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study highlights the importance of thorough ultrasound assessment of tarsal CL injuries and demonstrates that conservative management is a viable option to allow these horses to return to previous performance level.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37040895/