In many horses with proximal suspensory desmitis, radiopharmaceutical uptake (RU) in the proximal aspect of the third metacarpal (metatarsal) bone is normal. Increased RU reflects an enthesopathy, which may influence both treatment and prognosis. Authors’ address: Centre for Equine Studies, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU, UK; e-mail: [email protected]...

Introduction: Inflammation of the patellar ligament has been reported as a common complication following the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) procedure. This inflammation of the patellar ligament can range from asymptomatic radiographic thickening to clinical desmitis. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a relatively new treatment for various musculoskeletal conditions, includin...

BACKGROUND Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) is a debilitating disorder thought to be limited to suspensory ligaments of Peruvian Pasos, Peruvian Paso crosses, Arabians, American Saddlebreds, American Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, and some European breeds. It frequently leads to persistent, incurable lameness and need to euthanize affected horses. The pathogenesis remains unclea...

Suspensory ligament (SL) injury is an important source of lameness in performance horses. Injury to the SL not only affects the ligament, the third metacarpal or metatarsal bones may also be affected. 2-3 Multiple modalities are available to aide in the diagnosis of SL injury. All modalities can make a contribution to diagnosing and characterizing SL injury. 4 However, ultrasound is commonly us...

Proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD) results in sudden onset lameness, which can be remarkably transient, resolving within 24 hours unless the horse is worked hard. In horses with more chronic injury lameness may be persistent. PSD in forelimbs occurs in horses of all ages and from all disciplines. Extravagantly moving young dressage horses and older upper level competition horses are particularl...

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is an accepted form of treatment for chronic cases of proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD). Subjective evaluation of horses shortly after being treated with ESWT has led clinicians to comment on an immediate reduction in lameness. This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effect of ESWT on 16 horses with PSD or PSD-like pain in a fore- or hindlimb. To obj...

Patellar ligament inflammation has been reported to follow tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) procedures. While self-limiting, severe cases can result in marked lameness and prolonged recovery. Based on favorable results for shock wave therapy (SWT) of tendon and ligament injuries in other species, a clinical trial was conducted in dogs to determine if SWT would have a beneficial effect o...

Equine degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) in Peruvian Paso horses typically presents at 7-15 years and is characterized by lameness, focal disorganization of collagen fibrils, and chondroid deposition in the body of the ligament. With the aim of developing a test for disease risk (that can be used to screen horses before breeding) we have quantified the expression of 76 TGFβ-signa...