Patricio Claudia R, Winter Gustavo H Z, Garbade Petra
Veterinary Faculty, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA) Committee Member, Hamburg, Germany.
Equine Vet J. 2025 Sep;57(5):1357-1362. doi: 10.1111/evj.14541. Epub 2025 Jun 1.
Spinal articular dysfunction disrupts normal neural function and may lead to stiffness, pain or poor performance. Back pain is common in equine athletes, and it is a common complaint by horse owners requesting chiropractic evaluations.
To describe the prevalence of spinal articular dysfunction in showjumping horses.
Retrospective analysis of clinical records.
Records from 3 years of examinations in horses, from beginners to high-performance levels. Each horse had 30 spinal segments evaluated for the presence of dysfunctional articulations. Exams were performed by a certified International Veterinary Chiropractic Association veterinarian. Data recorded included age, sex, complaint and history of previous veterinary chiropractic examinations. Descriptive and statistical analysis was performed by age groups: G1 up to 6 years old, G2 from 7 to 10 years, G3 from 11 to 14 years, and G4 from 15 years and above. Significance was set as p < 0.05; results were presented as mean ± SD.
Four hundred and ninety-two jumping horses were included (4-19 years old). On average, animals had 11.9 (±3.5) dysfunctional spinal segments. The minimal number observed was 2 and the maximum was 23. No animals were free of spinal dysfunction, and 442 (89.8%) were found to have segmental dysfunction in all 3 spinal regions. The most affected vertebrae were L3, L2, L4, C1 and T7. Dysfunctional segments in the cervical region were diagnosed less frequently in G1 horses (p < 0.05).
Objective pain measurements were unavailable. Lameness, when present, was not graded and was not directly correlated with spinal dysfunction.
Jumping horses had a high prevalence of spinal articular dysfunction, mainly in the lumbar spine, thoracic sling area and atlanto-occipital joint. The prevalence of dysfunction of the cervical spine increases with age. No equine athlete in this study was free of spinal articular dysfunction.
脊柱关节功能障碍会破坏正常神经功能，并可能导致僵硬、疼痛或表现不佳。背痛在马术运动员中很常见，也是马主要求进行脊椎按摩评估时的常见诉求。
描述场地障碍赛马匹脊柱关节功能障碍的患病率。
临床记录的回顾性分析。
记录了从初学者到高水平马匹3年的检查记录。每匹马对30个脊柱节段进行关节功能障碍检查。检查由国际兽医脊椎按摩协会认证的兽医进行。记录的数据包括年龄、性别、主诉以及之前兽医脊椎按摩检查的病史。按年龄组进行描述性和统计分析：G1组为6岁及以下，G2组为7至10岁，G3组为11至14岁，G4组为15岁及以上。显著性设定为p < 0.05；结果以平均值±标准差表示。
纳入492匹场地障碍赛马匹（4至19岁）。平均而言，动物有11.9（±3.5）个脊柱功能障碍节段。观察到的最少数量为2个，最多为23个。没有动物没有脊柱功能障碍，442匹（89.8%）在所有3个脊柱区域都有节段性功能障碍。受影响最严重的椎体是L3、L2、L4、C1和T7。G1组马匹颈椎功能障碍节段的诊断频率较低（p < 0.05）。
无法进行客观的疼痛测量。出现跛行时，未进行分级，且与脊柱功能障碍无直接关联。
场地障碍赛马匹脊柱关节功能障碍的患病率很高，主要集中在腰椎、胸带区域和寰枕关节。颈椎功能障碍的患病率随年龄增加。本研究中没有一匹马术运动员没有脊柱关节功能障碍。
