Clinical findings in horses affected with tendinopathy and associated soft tissue injuries of various joints, from Lahore, Pakistan

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Shehla Gul Bokhari, Azmat Ullah, Aamir Noor, Sadaf Aslam, Saima Masood and Umair Israr

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pakistan

: J Vet Sci Med Diagn

Abstract

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The aim of the present study was to precisely diagnose and evaluate the percentage occurrence and severity of injuries to the tendons and other soft tissue structures in various joints in horses, in and around the Lahore city of Pakistan. 48 horses were included in the study and divided into three equal groups (n=16) i.e. Group A (race), Group B (polo) and Group C (draft-purpose) Horses. Each group was further subdivided into two equal sub-groups i.e. sound and unsound, with eight horses in each sub-group. Soft tissue structures from various joints including elbow, carpus, fetlock (fore and hind-legs), stifle, hock and flexor tendons were assessed in unsound horses on the basis of various clinical parameters, which included warmth, swelling, degree of pain, degree of lameness and range of motion, respectively. The results showed that warmth at the site of injury was significant (P≤0.021) in the race horse Group A only. Swelling was highly significant in all three groups, being more pronounced in the polo horse Group B (P≤0.000) and successively followed by the race and draft- horse Groups A and C (P≤0.002). Degree of pain (P≤0.001) and degree of lameness (P≤0.003) were highly significant for all three groups, equally. Range of motion of affected joints was however, highly significant for the race horse Group A (P≤0.001), followed by a significant reduction in range of motion of joints in the draft-purpose Group C (P≤0.022) and the polo horse Group B (P≤0.034), respectively. On the basis of statistical analysis and clinical findings, it was concluded that injuries were generally more pronounced in race horses (Group A) as compared to the other two groups.

Biography

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Shehla Gul Bokhari has completed her PhD from Nanjing Agricultural University China in 2011. She currently works at the Pet Centre of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. She has pioneered tendon scanning services for the first time in Pakistan through her project funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. She has published 12 papers in various journals and presented at 4 international conferences.

Email: shehla.gul@uvas.edu.pk