Ultrasonographic Diagnosis of Back and Pelvis Injuries in Horses

Introduction
Back and pelvis problems are a major cause of poor performance and gait abnormalities in sport and racehorses. Although it is often possible with the anamnesis and clinical (physical and dynamic) examination to objective or suspect functional abnormalities of the vertebral column, the definitive diagnosis of the cause of the pain is a real challenge for the equine practitioner.

Several papers have been published about the clinical examination of the horse back which is an essential part of the patient evaluation (Jeffcott 1981, Denoix 1992, 1998a). The objective is to determine if back pain is present and where is the site of the pain.

Once back pain is suspected or established in a horse, identification of the cause of the pain requires further investigations in which imaging procedures are essential. In the last twenty years significant improvement in the radiographic and ultrasonographic evaluation of the thoracolumbar and pelvic areas has been gained, permitting identification of lesions that were not accessible or even imagined before. The use of nuclear scintigraphy has added new diagnostic information allowing a better assessement of the sensitivity and specificity of clinical and other imaging procedures.

The general purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how ultrasonography is an essential tool for the diagnosis and documentation of mutiple back and pelvis conditions.  [...]