Elastographic characteristics of the metacarpal tendons in horses without clinical evidence of tendon injury.

This research explored the use of elastography, an ultrasound imaging technique, to assess the mechanical properties of horse tendons, without any prior evidence of injury. The findings suggested that this method could potentially introduce a new way to evaluate horse tendon injuries.

Methods and Objectives

• The purpose of this study was to assess the practicability, reproducibility, and repeatability of elastography as a method of examining the metacarpal tendons in healthy horses.
• The research included 19 legs from 17 clinically sound horses with no indication of musculoskeletal pathology.
• Elastographic images were captured of the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons and the branches of the suspensory ligament.
• These images were described quantitatively and qualitatively, with testing done to ascertain potential differences between operators or within operator assessments.

Results and Findings

• Results showed no significant difference between the operators (P = 0.86) or within operators (P = 0.93), indicating that elastography potentially offers reliable results irrespective of the operator.
• In terms of qualitative assessments, reproducibility was moderate (0.46) and repeatability was good (0.78), suggesting that this technique could be utilized repeatedly with reliable outcomes.
• Like human Achilles tendons, equine tendons were generally classified as hard using elastography.
• The researchers found no significant difference in stiffness of the flexor tendons (P = 0.96), in stiffness with altered leg positions during standing (P = 0.84), or while nonweight bearing (P = 0.61).
• However, it was found that flexor tendons were softer when imaged in longitudinal versus transverse planes (P < 0.01), whereas no such difference was noticed with the suspensory branches (P = 0.67).

Implications

• This research supports the potential future use of elastography as a noninvasive clinical tool for evaluating the tendons and ligaments of the horse’s distal forelimb.
• The use of elastography could potentially enhance diagnostics, treatment, and monitoring of tendon and ligament injuries in equine athletes by providing mechanical information about tendons which is not available with the current standard method of gray-scale ultrasonography.