Infrared Thermography Applied to Monitoring Musculoskeletal Adaptation to Training in Thoroughbred Race Horses.

The research paper discusses employing infrared thermography to observe how the musculoskeletal system of Thoroughbred horses alters during race training, and its capacity to predict potential injuries beforehand.

Objective and Methodology

• The researchers propose a hypothesis that infrared thermography, typically used in diagnosing lameness, could be applied more broadly to monitor and understand the changes in the musculoskeletal system of horses during race training.
• In order to study this, they conducted thermographic examinations every two weeks on 16 young Thoroughbred horses undergoing race training.
• This course of examination extended over several months, from their arrival at the racetrack in June 2016 through January 2017, with a total of 16 evaluations for each horse.
• They measured the temperature of particular areas of the horses’ anatomy, including various parts of the legs, the thoracolumbar region, sacroiliac spine, and both hips.

Findings

• At the beginning of the period of study, the researchers noted a thermal balance within the musculoskeletal regions and a positive correlation among these regions.
• However, as the training progressed, a significant temperature difference was observed between the left and right sides of the horses.
• These changes in the musculoskeletal system due to the training were more quickly detected with thermographic imaging than clinical examination.
• Four horses notably had to be withdrawn from the study subsequent to half of the evaluations due to metacarpal conditions attributed to the training, as detected early by thermographic examination.

Conclusion

• The study concludes that infrared thermography might be a beneficial imaging technique to better comprehend the physical adaptations to race training and could potentially be used as a predictive tool for noting physical conditions before they can become clinical problems.
• Nonetheless, bolstering the findings and potential of this study, more research is recommended to further assess the predictive capabilities of infrared thermography in anticipating lesions or other musculoskeletal concerns.