Tendonitis of the Deep Digital Flexor Tendon (AAEP 2004)

Swor and her co-authors from Texas A&M University (TAMU) found out that deep digital flexor tendonitis (DDFT) is more common than previously thought, and it is found more often in the hind limb than the forelimb. Additionally, horses with hind limb DDFT are more likely to make a full recovery than horses with forelimb DDFT.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

"Tendon and ligament injuries are very common in the horse–in performance horses and racehorses," said Tamara M. Swor, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, clinical instructor of equine surgery and emergency care at Washington State University, at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo., Dec. 4-8, 2004. "When you look in the literature, the most commonly affected tendon is the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT)." However, Swor and her co-authors from Texas A&M University (TAMU) found out that deep digital flexor tendonitis (DDFT) is more common than previously thought, and it is found more often in the hind limb than the forelimb. Additionally, horses with hind limb DDFT are more likely to make a full recovery than horses with forelimb DDFT.

This information was found by performing a retrospective study of 15 years of DDFT cases at Texas A&M University in which ultrasound diagnosis was used. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is quickly becoming a way to evaluate tendon lesions, most veterinarians use ultrasound evaluation of a possible DDFT injury because of unavailability of MRI. Swor and colleagues examined the radiographic and ultrasound examination findings in order to determine incidence and outcome.

"The DDFT was classified as abnormal if it had any changes in echogenicity (reflection of the emitted ultrasound signal), tendon fiber alignment, or an increase in tendon size," said Swor.

The mean age of the 78 horses was 9.7 years, and the mean duration of injury before presentation was 109 days. Among the 78 horses, there were 81 DDFT injuries. Fifty-four (69%) of the horses had an affected hind limb (28 in the left hind limb, 26 in the right hind limb), while 27 (35%) had DDFT lameness in the forelimb (19 in the right forelimb, eight in the left forelimb). When injuring a forelimb, 15 (55%) of the horses' DDFT lesions were in the pastern region. In most horses injuring a hind limb, the DDFT lesions were in the metatarsal (cannon bone) region (45 of the hind limb-affected horses, or 83%)

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stephanie L. Church, Editorial Director, grew up riding and caring for her family’s horses in Central Virginia and received a B.A. in journalism and equestrian studies from Averett University. She joined The Horse in 1999 and has led the editorial team since 2010. A 4-H and Pony Club graduate, she enjoys dressage, eventing, and trail riding with her former graded-stakes-winning Thoroughbred gelding, It Happened Again (“Happy”). Stephanie and Happy are based in Lexington, Kentucky.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
276 votes · 276 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!