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- Title
Changes in Head and Pelvic Movement Symmetry after Diagnostic Anaesthesia: Interactions between Subjective Judgement Categories and Commonly Applied Blocks.
- Authors
Pfau, Thilo; Clark, Kaitlyn Sophia; Bolt, David M.; Lai, Jaclyn Samantha; Perrier, Melanie; Rhodes, Jessica Bryce; Smith, Roger K.; Fiske-Jackson, Andrew
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Finding the cause of lameness in a horse often involves desensitizing different areas of the limbs, known as diagnostic anaesthesia. When combined with measuring changes in movement, for example, with inertial measurement units, different patterns may emerge in relation to how expert veterinarians perceive these changes. This study has analyzed interactions between perceived changes and measured gait parameters when horses were trotted in-hand in straight lines before and after different types of diagnostic anaesthesia were administered. Our study shows that movement of both the head and pelvis—the most commonly used indicators of lameness—change differently in relation to expert opinion and in association with what part of the limb has undergone elimination of pain. Generally, eliminating pain in a forelimb reduces the asymmetry of head movement (reduced head nodding), but also improves the ability of the horse to utilize the hind limb on the opposite side of the lame forelimb for pushing off from the ground. Eliminating pain in a hind limb appears to improve weight-bearing (supporting the body against gravity) as well as pushing off. This is observed for both the hind and front end of the horse, reducing both hip hike and head nod. Limited evidence is available relating gait changes to diagnostic anaesthesia. We investigated associations between specific movement patterns and diagnostic anaesthesia of different anatomical structures in a retrospective analysis. Referral-level lameness cases were included with the following criteria: presence of diagnostic anaesthesia of a forelimb and/or hind limb; subjective efficacy classified as "negative", "partially positive", or "positive"; quantitative gait data available from inertial measurement units. Gait changes were calculated for three forelimb (palmar digital, abaxial sesamoid, low 4-point nerve block) and five hind limb diagnostic blocks (tarso-metatarsal, metatarsophalangeal joint block, deep branch of lateral plantar, low 6-point, abaxial sesamoid nerve block). Mixed models (random factor "case", fixed factors "diagnostic anaesthesia type" and "efficacy", two-way interaction) assessed the head and pelvic movement (p < 0.05, Bonferroni correction). Four parameters were significantly affected by forelimb anaesthesia (N = 265) (all p ≤ 0.031) and six by hind limb anaesthesia (N = 342) efficacy (all p ≤ 0.001). All head movement parameters and pelvic push-off asymmetry were significantly affected by the two-way interaction after forelimb anaesthesia (all p ≤ 0.023) and two pelvic movement symmetry parameters by the two-way interaction after hind limb anaesthesia (all p ≤ 0.020). There are interactions between block efficacy and type resulting in changes in weight-bearing and push-off-associated head and pelvic movement symmetry after diagnostic anaesthesia.
- Subjects
JUDGMENT (Psychology); HINDLIMB; NERVE block; LAMENESS in horses; ANESTHESIA; METATARSOPHALANGEAL joint
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2023, Vol 13, Issue 24, p3769
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani13243769