The effect of manually facilitated flexion of the thoracic spine on the interspinous space among horses with impinging dorsal spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae.

The research study investigates the effect of manually facilitated flexion of the thoracic spine on the increase in the interspinous space in horses diagnosed with Impinging Dorsal Spinous Processes (IDSP). The study found that posture change can alter this space, which could influence grading and decision making for the ailment.

Objective and Background

• The prime objective of this research is to understand the correlation between changes in the thoracic vertebral interspinous space distances and manually facilitated thoracic flexion in horses diagnosed with IDSP.
• IDSP diagnosis typically depends on radiography. However, traditionally, the horse’s thoracolumbar posture and its effect on the interspinous spaces during this diagnosis is often overlooked.
• The researchers hypothesized that by altering the horse’s posture, through facilitated thoracic flexion or ‘thoracic lift’, the interspinous spaces could potentially be expanded.

Research Methodology

• The research involved a sample size of seven horses of mixed breed and sex, with a median age of 9.1 years, diagnosed with thoracic IDSP but having no history of spinal surgery.
• Two sets of radiographs were taken from each horse; one when the horse was in a spontaneous posture, and the second when the horse was in a manually facilitated flexed posture.
• The images were then anonymized to carry out a blinded measurement of the interspinous spaces to avoid any bias.
• The Hodges-Lehmann method was used for statistical analysis to estimate median differences.

Key Findings

• The study revealed an increase in the median interspinous space distance after manual facilitation of thoracic flexion at every thoracic intervertebral space (5th-18th thoracic [T] vertebra).
• The maximum increase in space was observed between the T7-T8 and T12-T13 vertebrae (3.1 mm and 3.0 mm, respectively) while the minimum increase was noticed between the T17-T18 vertebrae (0.7 mm).

Conclusions and Implications

• The study concludes that the interspinous space distances in the thoracic region could be increased by manually facilitating posture change in horses diagnosed with IDSP.
• This factor could influence the grading of the disease severity and thereby affect the clinical decision-making process.
• This finding could potentially change how veterinary practitioners approach diagnosis and treatment of IDSP in horses.