Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part
Despite back-pain being a common cause of poor performance in sport horses, a tailored diagnostic workflow and a consolidated therapeutic approach are currently lacking in equine medicine. The aim of the study was to assess the evolution in the veterinarian approach to diagnose and treat back-pain o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00195/full |
| _version_ | 1818971114811949056 |
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| author | Barbara Riccio Claudia Fraschetto Justine Villanueva Federica Cantatore Andrea Bertuglia |
| author_facet | Barbara Riccio Claudia Fraschetto Justine Villanueva Federica Cantatore Andrea Bertuglia |
| author_sort | Barbara Riccio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite back-pain being a common cause of poor performance in sport horses, a tailored diagnostic workflow and a consolidated therapeutic approach are currently lacking in equine medicine. The aim of the study was to assess the evolution in the veterinarian approach to diagnose and treat back-pain over a 10 years period. To investigate this topic, two surveys were addressed to equine veterinarians working in practice throughout Europe 10 years apart (2006 and 2016). The answers were organized in an Excel dataset and analyzed. There were 47 respondents in 2006 and 168 in 2016, from 8 European Countries. The main reasons for examining horses with back-pain were poor performance (76%), behavioral issues (68%), and lameness (50%). When assessing back pain, 97% of respondents applied careful digital pressure over paravertebral muscles, 90% of them used digital back mobilization, and 69% was detecting areas of localized heat. The use of diagnostic analgesia to confirm the source of pain was rarely employed. Radiography and ultrasonography were the most frequent diagnostic imaging modalities used to investigate the causes of back-pain in both surveys. Obtaining a definitive diagnosis in horses with back-pain is considered challenging due to the reduced accessibility of the area and the variability in the pain manifestations. Corticosteroids injections were used for local treatments by 80% of respondents in 2006 and 92% in 2016. Recently, ultrasonography has been extensively used during the injections of the vertebral articular facets and sacroiliac joints region. The use of complementary therapies was restricted to a low percentage of respondents in the first survey (20%) but it increased over the decade. In 2016, a wider percentage of respondents considered osteopathy (40%), kinesiotherapy (29%), and acupuncture (22%) when treating back disorders compared to 2006. The structural differences of the two surveys did not enable a direct data comparison. Based on the results of this surveys, however, veterinarians should be sensitized to the back-pain problems and seek to integrate findings from clinical research studies in their daily practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:47:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d57a6330dd5442d8ba6d36fb03879f4b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:47:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-d57a6330dd5442d8ba6d36fb03879f4b2022-12-21T19:37:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692018-08-01510.3389/fvets.2018.00195394753Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a PartBarbara Riccio0Claudia Fraschetto1Justine Villanueva2Federica Cantatore3Andrea Bertuglia4Private Practitioner, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco, ItalyPool House Equine Clinic, Lichfield, United KingdomDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco, ItalyDespite back-pain being a common cause of poor performance in sport horses, a tailored diagnostic workflow and a consolidated therapeutic approach are currently lacking in equine medicine. The aim of the study was to assess the evolution in the veterinarian approach to diagnose and treat back-pain over a 10 years period. To investigate this topic, two surveys were addressed to equine veterinarians working in practice throughout Europe 10 years apart (2006 and 2016). The answers were organized in an Excel dataset and analyzed. There were 47 respondents in 2006 and 168 in 2016, from 8 European Countries. The main reasons for examining horses with back-pain were poor performance (76%), behavioral issues (68%), and lameness (50%). When assessing back pain, 97% of respondents applied careful digital pressure over paravertebral muscles, 90% of them used digital back mobilization, and 69% was detecting areas of localized heat. The use of diagnostic analgesia to confirm the source of pain was rarely employed. Radiography and ultrasonography were the most frequent diagnostic imaging modalities used to investigate the causes of back-pain in both surveys. Obtaining a definitive diagnosis in horses with back-pain is considered challenging due to the reduced accessibility of the area and the variability in the pain manifestations. Corticosteroids injections were used for local treatments by 80% of respondents in 2006 and 92% in 2016. Recently, ultrasonography has been extensively used during the injections of the vertebral articular facets and sacroiliac joints region. The use of complementary therapies was restricted to a low percentage of respondents in the first survey (20%) but it increased over the decade. In 2016, a wider percentage of respondents considered osteopathy (40%), kinesiotherapy (29%), and acupuncture (22%) when treating back disorders compared to 2006. The structural differences of the two surveys did not enable a direct data comparison. Based on the results of this surveys, however, veterinarians should be sensitized to the back-pain problems and seek to integrate findings from clinical research studies in their daily practice.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00195/fullback-painmulticentric surveysports medicineveterinarians' opinionequine spine |
| spellingShingle | Barbara Riccio Claudia Fraschetto Justine Villanueva Federica Cantatore Andrea Bertuglia Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part Frontiers in Veterinary Science back-pain multicentric survey sports medicine veterinarians' opinion equine spine |
| title | Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part |
| title_full | Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part |
| title_fullStr | Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part |
| title_short | Two Multicenter Surveys on Equine Back-Pain 10 Years a Part |
| title_sort | two multicenter surveys on equine back pain 10 years a part |
| topic | back-pain multicentric survey sports medicine veterinarians' opinion equine spine |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00195/full |
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