Haussler K K, Martin C E, Hill A E
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Equine Vet J Suppl. 2010 Nov(38):695-702. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00241.x.
Spinal mobilisation and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) are being applied to horses; however, there are limited objective measures of their effects on spinal mobility or stiffness in actively ridden horses.
To quantify passive spinal movements induced during dorsoventral mobilisation of the trunk and to identify any potential effects of SMT on measures of spinal mobility within the thoracolumbar region in standing horses. We hypothesise that displacement amplitudes will be significantly increased across vertebral levels after SMT, compared to spinal mobilisation only within the control group.
Passive spinal mobility was assessed in 24 actively ridden mature horses once a week for 3 weeks. Peak vertical displacement, loading and unloading velocities, applied force, stiffness and the frequency of truncal oscillations induced during dorsoventral spinal mobilisation were measured at 5 thoracolumbar sites and compared between treatment (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. Each week, outcome parameters were measured pre- and post intervention, 10 min apart. Treatment consisted of manually-applied, high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA) thrusts directed at the 5 intervertebral sites. Control horses received no additional intervention. A mixed-effects linear regression model was used to assess the interactive effects of treatment group, vertebral level, week and pre-/post intervention.
Post intervention displacement amplitudes of the trunk and applied forces were significantly higher in the SMT group, compared to the control group. A similar trend was found for increased spinal stiffness within the SMT group. Across vertebral levels, SMT induced a 40% increase in displacement, a 20% increase in applied force and a 7% increase in stiffness.
SMT increased dorsoventral displacement of the trunk, which is indicative of producing increased passive spinal flexibility in actively ridden horses. Further clinical research is needed on the effectiveness of manual therapies in horses with objective measures of back pain, stiffness and poor performance.
脊柱松动术和脊柱手法治疗（SMT）已应用于马匹；然而，对于它们对正在积极骑行的马匹脊柱活动度或僵硬程度的影响，客观测量方法有限。
量化在躯干背腹向松动过程中诱发的被动脊柱运动，并确定SMT对站立马匹胸腰段脊柱活动度测量指标的任何潜在影响。我们假设，与仅进行脊柱松动术的对照组相比，SMT后各椎体水平的位移幅度将显著增加。
对24匹正在积极骑行的成年马进行为期3周的被动脊柱活动度评估，每周一次。在5个胸腰段部位测量背腹向脊柱松动过程中诱发的垂直位移峰值、加载和卸载速度、施加力、刚度以及躯干振荡频率，并在治疗组（n = 12）和对照组（n = 12）之间进行比较。每周在干预前后相隔10分钟测量结果参数。治疗包括针对5个椎间部位进行手动施加的高速低幅（HVLA）推力。对照马不接受额外干预。使用混合效应线性回归模型评估治疗组、椎体水平、周数和干预前后的交互作用。
与对照组相比，SMT组干预后躯干的位移幅度和施加力显著更高。在SMT组中发现脊柱刚度增加的类似趋势。在各椎体水平上，SMT使位移增加40%，施加力增加20%，刚度增加7%。
SMT增加了躯干的背腹向位移，这表明在正在积极骑行的马匹中产生了增加的被动脊柱柔韧性。对于有背痛、僵硬和运动表现不佳等客观测量指标的马匹，手动治疗的有效性需要进一步的临床研究。
