Descriptive epidemiology of joint injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses in training

Reed, S. R.; Jackson, Ben; Ilwraith, C. W. Mc; Wright, I. M.; Pilsworth, R. C.; Knapp, Shannon M.; Wood, James; Price, Joanna S.; Verheyen, K. L. P.

doi:10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00352.x

Cited by 57 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…There was a lower prevalence of lucencies in the Cu bone in the current study. It has been found that ulnar carpal bone lucencies and associated fragments can be an incidental finding in horses from all disciplines 23 . It is difficult to explain this lower prevalence in the South African Thoroughbred yearling population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiographic changes in Thoroughbred yearlings in South Africa

Furniss¹,

Carstens²

2011

J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc.

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This study involves the evaluation of pre-purchase radiographic studies of South African Thoroughbred yearlings. Radiographic changes were recorded and compared with similar international studies. The study differs from other studies in that a lower prevalence of pedal osteitis (1.26 %), dorsal osteochondral fragmentation of the metatarsophalangeal joint (1.60 %), distal metacarpal sagittal ridge changes (15.7 %), ulnar carpal bone lucencies (8.33 %), carpal osteophytes (1.19 %), distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joint radiographic changes (9.92 %), tarsal osteochondrosis lesions (4.40 %) and stifle osteochondrosis lesions (0.4 %) was found. The prevalence of dorsal osteochondral fragments in the metacarpophalangeal joint was similar to other studies (1.60 %). A higher prevalence of vascular channels as well as irregular borders and lucencies was evident in the proximal sesamoid bones. There was a higher prevalence of palmar metacarpophalangeal and plantar metatarsophalangeal osteochondral fragments (2 % and 7.10 % respectively). Palmar metacarpal disease, metacarpal supracondylar lysis, proximal sesamoid bone fractures and carpal osteochondral fragmentation were absent in the current study. Additional findings recorded in the current study were proximal interphalangeal joint hyperextension (left front 15.13 %, right front 18.91 %), the solar angle (right front 2.38°, left front 2.79°), the prevalence of carpal bone 1 (30.95 %) and carpal bone 5 (1.59 %). Management, nutrition and genetics in the various groups of Thoroughbred yearlings should be further investigated in order to explain the reasons for the differences recorded in the current study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiographic changes in Thoroughbred yearlings in South Africa

Furniss¹,

Carstens²

2011

J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc.

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“…Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are the primary cause of reduced training days and racehorse wastage in Standardbred racehorses (STBR) as well as in Thoroughbred racehorses (TBR) [1-6]. But, only a few research studies have attentively focused on STBR specific problems [7-10], such as middle carpal joint injuries [8] and proximal sesamoid bone fractures [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Racetrack surface [2,3], age [1,3,6], gender [1,6,16,17], season [3,5,16], trainer [4,5,15-17], pre-existing pathologies [18-20], accumulation of exercise at racing speed [21,22], average distance run per week [23,24], laying-up periods [2,22] and inter-race interval [2,22] have all been studied in TBR populations, with contradictory results. Also, shoeing techniques received great attention [19,25,26]; particularly one of them, the toe grab, is a recognized risk factor for MSI in TBR due to the alteration of the horse’s gait at high speed [19,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies focusing on lameness cases in STBR are better defined by veterinary reports because trainer opinions are potentially misleading, since many horses are normally trained with gait problems, and those imperfections are related to a sign of immaturity in the trotting efficiency rather than orthopaedic pain. As stated in recent research [6], classification systems of exercise-related injuries should describe diseases on the basis of common pathogenesis, repetition and severity of injury, rather than on simple anatomical considerations. These features would make a classification suitable for studies aimed at identifying risk factors for specific diseases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries in a population of harness Standardbred racehorses in training

et al. 2014

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BackgroundThere is a substantial paucity of studies concerning musculoskeletal injuries in harness Standardbred racehorses. Specifically, little is known about the epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries. Most studies on this subject involve Thoroughbred racehorses, whose biomechanics and racing speed differ from Standardbred, making comparisons difficult. Here, a population of Standardbred racehorses trained at the same racecourse was studied over four years and a classification system for exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries was designed. The incidence rates of musculoskeletal injuries causing horses’ withdrawal from training for 15 days or longer were investigated. A mixed-effects Poisson regression model was used to estimate musculoskeletal injury rates and to describe significance of selected risk factors for exercise-related injuries in this population.ResultsA total of 356 trotter racehorses from 10 different stables contributed 8961 months at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Four-hundred-and-twenty-nine injuries were reported and classified into 16 categories, based on their aetiology and anatomical localisation. The overall exercise-related injury rate was 4.79 per 100 horse months. When considering risk factors one by one in separate univariable analyses, we obtained the following results: rates did not differ significantly between genders and classes of age, whereas one driver seemed to cause fewer injuries than the others. Racing speed and racing intensity, as well as recent medical history, seemed to be significant risk factors (p < 0.001), while being shod or unshod during racing was not. On the other hand, when pooling several risk factors in a multivariable approach, only racing intensity turned out to be significant (p < 0.001), since racing speed and the racing intensity were partially confounded, being strongly correlated to one another.ConclusionCharacterizing epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries in trotter racehorses provides baseline incidence rate values. Incidence rates of stress fracture are lower in Standardbreds compared to Thoroughbreds, whereas the opposite is true for tendon and suspensory ligament injuries. In addition to identification of risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries among Standardbred racehorses, results suggest that racing intensity seems to be a protective predictor of risk and recent medical history could be used to identify horses at risk of injury.

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“…Prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries are best documented in the racing Thoroughbred (Stover et al 1992 ;Parkin et al 2006 ;Verheyen et al 2006 ;Clegg 2011 ;Reed et al 2012 ). The reason is the structured nature of the race industry with information on the individual animal (age at fi rst race, number of starts, winning sum) readily available.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%