Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK; Hartpury University, Hartpury, Gloucester, GL19 3BE, UK.
Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK; Hartpury University, Hartpury, Gloucester, GL19 3BE, UK.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2022 Aug;115:104005. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2022.104005. Epub 2022 May 6.
Walking over poles is a commonly employed training and rehabilitation tool and it is crucial to understand its effect on equine locomotion, particularly joint range of motion (ROM). The study aimed to compare the effect of ground poles (GP) and raised poles (RP) on limb kinematics and poll, wither and pelvic ROM at walk. It was hypothesized that walking over poles would increase joint ROM but have no effect on poll, wither and pelvic ROM compared to no poles (NP). Forty-one horses were walked in-hand over NP, GP (10 cm) and RP (26 cm) in a crossover design. Limb kinematics were determined via two-dimensional motion capture (240 Hz). Poll, wither, tubera sacrale, and left/right tuber coxae ROM were determined by inertial motion units (100 Hz). Multivariable mixed effects linear regression analyses were carried out. Walking over poles increased limb joint ROM, through increased swing flexion, compared to NP. There was a greater effect over RP compared to GP. Significant reductions in craniocaudal ROM of the wither, tuber coxae and tuber sacrale were observed over GP and RP. Mediolateral ROM of tuber coxae and tuber sacrale increased over GP and RP and was greatest over RP. Wither ROM was increased over RP only. Set-up and height of the poles used here may not extrapolate to other scenarios. Walking over poles appears to be effective at increasing joint ROM via an increase in mid swing flexion, without vertical excursion of the trunk, compared to normal locomotion, which supports the use of poles for rehabilitation.
跨越杆子是一种常用的训练和康复工具，了解它对马的运动，尤其是关节活动范围（ROM）的影响至关重要。本研究旨在比较地面杆（GP）和高架杆（RP）对四肢运动学以及在行走时的马颈、肩和骨盆 ROM 的影响。假设与无杆（NP）相比，跨越杆子会增加关节 ROM，但对马颈、肩和骨盆 ROM 没有影响。41 匹马以 NP、GP（10 厘米）和 RP（26 厘米）的顺序进行了手牵步行的交叉设计。通过二维运动捕捉（240 Hz）确定四肢运动学。通过惯性运动单元（100 Hz）确定马颈、肩、荐骨突和左右髋骨 ROM。进行了多变量混合效应线性回归分析。与 NP 相比，跨越杆子通过增加摆动屈曲来增加四肢关节 ROM。与 GP 相比，RP 对关节 ROM 的影响更大。跨越 GP 和 RP 时，观察到肩、髋骨和荐骨突的颅尾向 ROM 显著减少。跨越 GP 和 RP 时，髋骨和荐骨突的左右向 ROM 增加，且以 RP 时最大。仅在 RP 上增加了马颈 ROM。这里使用的杆子的设置和高度可能无法外推到其他情况。与正常运动相比，跨越杆子似乎通过增加中摆屈曲来增加关节 ROM，而不会使躯干垂直移动，这支持了使用杆子进行康复的做法。
