The Detection of Thoracolumbar Spine Injuries in Horses with Chronic Laminitis Using a Novel Clinical-Assessment Protocol and Ultrasonographic Examination.
Authors: Guedes Julia R B, Vendruscolo Cynthia P, Tokawa Paula K A, Carvalho Armando M, Johnson Philip J, Faleiros Rafael R
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Chronic laminitis forces horses into a characteristic hunched posture to alleviate forelimb pain, which may come at a considerable cost to the thoracolumbar spine through prolonged hyperflexion and altered load-bearing mechanics. Researchers compared 30 laminitic and 30 control horses using a newly developed clinical assessment protocol (MACCTORE), pain scales, and ultrasound examination to characterise spinal injury prevalence and severity. Laminitic horses demonstrated substantially elevated pain indicators and thoracolumbar pathology scores—with MACCTORE scores more than double those of controls (11.7 versus 4.2) and ultrasound indices nearly double (39.6 versus 20.7)—and carried a striking 14-fold greater prevalence of ultrasound-detectable spinal lesions. These findings suggest that secondary spinal injury represents an underrecognised consequence of chronic laminitis, with important implications for managing pain and postural support in affected horses; farriers and veterinarians should consider that persistent laminitis cases may benefit from multimodal assessment including thoracolumbar examination, potentially informing therapeutic shoeing, physiotherapy, and nutritional strategies alongside primary laminar treatment. Whilst the cross-sectional study design establishes association rather than causation, this novel evidence warrants longitudinal investigation to determine whether early intervention targeting spinal mechanics could mitigate cumulative damage in chronic laminitis cases.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Chronic laminitis cases warrant thoracolumbar spine assessment as secondary injury is common—consider ultrasound screening to identify lesions affecting performance or recovery
- •The pain and postural changes from forelimb laminitis create significant secondary strain on the thoracolumbar region; this underscores the importance of aggressive laminitis management to prevent cascade injuries
- •Clinical examination protocols like MACCTORE can identify spine involvement without advanced imaging; integrate targeted spine palpation and pain scoring into laminitis case workups
Key Findings
- •Horses with chronic laminitis showed significantly higher thoracolumbar spine injury scores on clinical examination (11.7 vs 4.2, p<0.0001) compared to non-laminitic controls
- •Laminitic horses had 14-fold higher prevalence of ultrasound-detected thoracolumbar spine lesions (CI: 4.4–50.6, p<0.0001)
- •Pain manifestation markers including Grimace Scale and heart rate were significantly elevated in laminitic horses (p<0.0001)
- •The MACCTORE scoring system and ultrasonographic examination successfully detected spine injuries associated with postural adaptation in chronic laminitis