Multimodal Approach to Back Pain Assessment in Sport Horses: Back Kinematics and Mechanical Nociceptive Thresholds

Description

Back pain is a common cause of poor performance in sport horses, yet objective links between mechanical sensitivity and spinal motion remain unclear. This exploratory study investigated associations between mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNT) and thoraco-lumbo-sacral range of motion (ROM) in 12 Thoroughbred horseball horses with clinically diagnosed back pain. Mechanical nociceptive thresholds were measured at 17 sites using digital pressure algometry and aggregated into anatomical regions; mean MNT ranged from 6.40 ± 1.06 kg/cm² at the withers to 8.61 ± 1.55 kg/cm² in the mid-lumbar region. Spinal kinematics were recorded during in-hand trot using a nine-sensor inertial measurement unit system. Mean flexion–extension ROM was 4.31 ± 0.93° at T13, 4.33 ± 1.12° at T18, and 4.64 ± 0.64° at L3, while differential flexion–extension between T18–L1 was 2.51 ± 0.92°. Principal component analysis explored shared variance patterns, and region-specific general linear models examined associations between MNT and ROM. Significant region-dependent associations were identified: lateral bending was positively associated with MNT in the cranial (p = 0.042) and caudal thoracic regions (p = 0.007), axial rotation was negatively associated in the caudal thoracic region (p = 0.023), and flexion–extension was positively associated with MNT in the mid-thoracic (p = 0.045) and lumbo-sacral regions (overall model p = 0.033; flexion–extension p = 0.008). These findings demonstrate region-specific coupling between mechanical sensitivity and spinal mobility in horses with back pain.

Institutions

• Anglia Ruskin University

  England, Cambridge

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