Recognising and managing mechanical gait abnormalities

Mechanical gait abnormalities are one of those enigmatic concepts in veterinary medicine that are doled out to veterinary students and listed in classic texts, but then rarely seen or accurately diagnosed in clinical practice. There are a few manifestations of mechanical lameness that are reasonably straightforward, such as upward fixation of the patella and fibrotic myopathy. Others such as stringhalt are usually more neurologic in origin, although they can arise from traumatic injuries to the tarsal region. Even here it can be difficult to determine if the cause is truly mechanical. Tendon and ligament injuries can lead to mechanical gait abnormalities. Restrictive fibrosis, for instance in the tendon sheaths and navicular bursa, can also be a cause – but is more difficult to be definitive about ...