Purpose: Trigger points may occur when muscle is subject to direct trauma, sustained tension, fatigue, radiculopathy, joint dysfunction and emotional stress, which may cause aberrant nerve conduction and dysfunction of the motor neurons. Any of these factors may increase the possibility of overload stress to a muscle and may convert a latent trigger point to an active one. In humans, due to muscle attachments, spinal manipulation causes reflex relaxation of associated and distal musculature. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of upper cervical spine manipulation, specifically C1, on pain tolerance of trigger points over the erector spinae muscles in show-jumping horses. Method: This study consisted of two groups, the experimental and the control group, each consisting of ten horses. Potential candidates were examined and accepted based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The only method of treatment that was administered to each horse was chiropractic manipulation to the most restricted side of the UPPER CERVICAL SPINE joint complex, from which the objective findings were based. Procedure: Both groups were examined for trigger points within the Erector Spinae muscles and these trigger points were assessed, via an algometer, for spot tenderness. All horses were then examined for a cervical restriction of the upper cervical spine. Only the experiment group had the restriction corrected by a chiropractic manipulation and thereafter both groups were reassessed two minutes later, and then again two weeks later, via an algometer, for spot tenderness within the same trigger points. Results: Statistically significant changes were found when comparing the algometer readings before the adjustment with the algometer readings after the adjustment on the right. Otherwise no statistically significant differences were found when comparing algometer readings before the adjustment with the algometer readings after the adjustment on the left, or when comparing the algometer readings before the adjustment with the algometer reading two weeks later bilaterally. Conclusion: The results were inconclusive with regards to immediate and prolonged effects of upper cervical spine manipulation, specifically C1, on pain tolerances over the erector spinae muscle. As this study was directed to a small group of subjects, accurate conclusions cannot be formulated due to the insignificant findings obtained from the study and further research needs to be performed on the effects of upper cervical spine manipulation on trigger points in horses. / Dr. Ashleigh Deall Dr. Alex Niven Dr. Chris Yelverton

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 N97 / Master of Science

No description available.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background: Horses are unlike most animals as they take part in equine sports and thus are athletic animals. Comparable to a human athlete, horses are prone to sports related injuries and disease. Equine chiropractic has shown to be one of the most utilized forms of complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) worldwide, providing a drug free approach to equine health care and maintenance. However, equine chiropractic lacks research and therefore a wide gap in the literature exists. Studies on CAVM therapies have shown that these therapies are largely driven by the public and the public’s perceptions towards these therapies. However, little is known of the public’s perceptions towards equine chiropractic in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Horse riders represent the primary contact with the horse and are in the best position to note the outcome of post equine chiropractic treatment. For this reason they have influence on the utilization of equine chiropractic. It is, therefore, important to attempt to close the gap through ascertaining the horse riders’ knowledge, perception and utilization of equine chiropractic, particularly in KZN, where no such data exists. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the knowledge, perception and utilization of equine chiropractic amongst horse riders in the KZN region. Method: The research design is a descriptive, quantitative, self administered survey based study. The study population included all horse riders in KZN (N= 500). There is no available list that details the number of horse riders in KZN, therefore, it was estimated that there are 500 horse riders in KZN (This was based on the number of horses stabled in KZN). The study sample included all horse riders at stable yards in KZN that had given written permission for the research to take part at their yard (N= 330). This was estimated by the number of horses stabling at the yards where owners had given written permission. Results: The response rate was 25% (n=83). The respondents were predominantly white (98%) and female (81%), and between the ages of 41- 50 years. Most respondents had previously been treated successfully by a chiropractor and had tertiary education. The majority of respondents were part of a horse society and participated predominantly in show- jumping. Most respondents had ridden horses for 0-10years, and currently rode only one horse. Their main horse (the horse they rode the most), for which most respondents were both the owner and rider, stayed predominantly in a stable and was between the ages of 5- 10 years. Most respondents had not sought alternative veterinary care for this horse, but had sought alternative veterinary care for their other horse(s) that they rode. Out of all the alternative veterinary therapies respondents reported to utilize, equine chiropractic showed to have the highest utilization. Equine chiropractic reported to have an overall high success rate with both the respondents’ main horse (92%) and their other horse(s) (87.5%). Respondents’ overall subjective knowledge of equine chiropractic was ‘that they knew something about it’. Respondents’ objective knowledge score was 75%. Most respondents had gained their knowledge of equine chiropractic through a friend and stated that the information they had gained was favourable towards equine chiropractic. It was interesting to note that 90% of respondents had some knowledge of equine chiropractic. Most respondents knew of one or more equine chiropractor(s), and were referred to them predominantly by a riding instructor. Just under half (49.4%) of the respondents had utilized an equine chiropractor, yet most respondents showed to have accurate knowledge of what equine conditions chiropractors treat. The majority of respondents supported the future utilization of equine chiropractic, but would like more information on equine chiropractic techniques. The research data revealed a trend showing that the utilization of alternative equine therapies or equine chiropractic corresponded with an increased knowledge of equine chiropractic. The data revealed graphically that the more equine chiropractors a respondent knew of, the more they utilized equine chiropractic. Conclusion: Respondents showed predominantly to have a positive perception towards equine chiropractic. Their knowledge of equine chiropractic was overall accurate and they showed to utilize and support the future utilization of equine chiropractic.

Thesis (PhD (Physiological Sciences))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / SUPERFICIAL digital flexor tendon injury has a serious negative impact on the competitive horse industry. Injured horses require up to a year of rest for recovery and likelihood of re-injury upon return to normal activity is as high as 80 %. Tendon healing requires (a) production of collagen by fibroblasts, to provide tensile strength and elasticity to the tendon, (b) minimisation of restrictive fibrosis, which compromises tendon gliding function and (c) minimisation of peritendinous adhesions. We review conventional treatments for tendon healing before exploring stem cell application as a therapeutic alternative. We promote the use of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult peripheral blood - as opposed to bone marrow-derived stem cells or embryonic stem cell sources - and review published research output in this regard. In conclusion, we outline our research objectives and present and discuss our results in the chapters that follow. Mononuclear cells - consisting of hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and leucocytes – were isolated from the peripheral blood of sheep and horses through red blood cell lysis and blood plasma extraction. Cell counts and propidium iodide dye exclusion viability tests were conducted on the cell pellets. Sheep sub samples were tested for CD45 expression and horse sub samples for CD4 and CD11a/18 cell surface markers by flow cytometry for characterisation purposes. In both cases, separate sub samples were incubated with matched immunoglobulin (IgG) isotypes, conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), to serve as controls. For the culture of mononuclear cells, 4.5 x 106 cells were selected for autologous sheep injections, 3 x 106 CD45- cells for allogeneic sheep injections (the latter excluding leucocytes that may induce an immune response) and 72 x 106 cells for horse injections. These cells were incubated with bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU), cultured and subsets were extracted for a second round of cell counts and viability tests before being resuspended in blood plasma. For the horse samples an additional 1 x 106 mononuclear cells were incubated until reaching 60 % confluence and tested for myogenic differentiation. Low cell mortality and lack of fluorescence from IgG-FITC controls reflected effective protocols and a lack of false positive results. The fact that the equine cell population differentiated into myotubes verified the presence of mesenchymal stem cells in injections. We tested whether surgical incisions or collagenase injections best mimicked naturally occurring tendon injuries and compiled macroscopic and microscopic descriptions of tendon injury sites at seven weeks post-injury. The superficial digital flexor tendons of 27 sheep received an incision, a collagenase injection or a saline control injection. After one week a number of sheep were sacrificed while the remainder received further saline treatment and were sacrificed after another seven weeks. Tendons were examined through clinical observations, image analysis of maximum tendon diameter, mechanical testing and histological sectioning of affected tissues. Collagenase-induced injury resembled tendonitis more closely than surgically-induced injury. Collagenase-injured tendons (a) induced lengthier lameness in affected limbs, (b) were more swollen and difficult to palpate, (c) assumed the bow appearance characteristic of natural injury, (d) experienced extensive haemorrhage due to collagen lysis, (e) had decreased elasticity and capacity to carry loads and stress, (f) displayed decreased stiffness due to collagen fibre disruption and (g) developed severe inflammation. After seven weeks injured tendons displayed increased vascularisation in the areas of haemorrhage and in the adjacent collagen matrix. High inflammation rates and low collagen levels however still persisted. Collagenase injections were used to induce tendonitis in the superficial digital flexor tendons of 27 sheep. After one week these tendons received treatment with a control saline solution, autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) or allogeneic peripheral blood CD45- MNCs. Healing rates were compared after a further seven week period by conducting ultrasonographic evaluations, clinical observations, image analyses of maximum tendon diameter, mechanical tests and histological investigations. Tendons treated with MNCs displayed an improvement in echogenicity and fibre linearity, higher and more organised collagen levels, stronger mechanical properties and less swelling. Although these improvements were not always significant, they provided strong evidence to suggest marked healing benefits over a longer time period. Collagenase injections were used to induce tendonitis in the superficial digital flexor tendons of four horses. After one week these tendons received treatment with either a control saline solution or autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs). Healing rates were compared after a further seven week period by conducting ultrasonographic evaluations, clinical observations, image analysis of maximum tendon diameter and histological investigations. Tendons treated with MNCs displayed significant improvements in fibre linearity in the direct vicinity of the lesion, as well as recovery rate thereof, and experienced less swelling when compared with their untreated counterparts. Healing trends suggested that, given a longer period of observation post-injury, more significant improvements may become apparent. Human adipose tissue is known be an easily accessible and high yielding source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells. These stem cells could potentially be used for therapeutic advancement of tendon regeneration. Our first goal was to examine the in vitro myogenic differentiation potential of adipose-derived, adherent mononuclear cells (MNCs) from six adult sheep. The second goal was to characterise the population of cells isolated through various available ovine specific, non-mesenchymal stem cell surface markers, namely, CD1, CD31, CD34 and CD45. After incubation, only four of the six MNC cultures started to proliferate. These four cultures all exhibited high myogenic differentiation ability. The isolated cell populations did not express any of the non-mesenchymal stem cell specific cell surface markers. In conclusion, our data suggests that peripheral blood stem cells and adipose-derived stem cells are important candidate cell types for therapeutic application to improve tendon repair in horses and sheep. Sufficient time must be allowed following injury and prior to stem cell treatment (at least one month) and a controlled exercise program should be followed posttreatment. A larger sample size is required and at least six months of recovery before macroscopic and histological repair can be analysed more accurately and conclusively. Ultrasonography should be carried out on a continuous basis, as it is a non-invasive method of monitoring change over time.