MRI for Stifle Injury

PorkChop

PorkChop

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Has anyone used a MRI to diagnose an injury to the stifle instead of an arthroscopy?

Horse in question is young and I have decided not to go for an arthroscopy as they rarely come back into full work after one - she is also not a candidate for box rest and controlled rehab.

She has just done two and half weeks box rest on a heavy dose of ACP and was still having a lovely, albeit spaced out time in her stable! I just don't feel right about subjecting this particular horse to the necessary time in.

I thought that maybe if I could get a MRI done I would have a clearer picture of what I am dealing with.

Of course, if anyone has a better course of action I am open to suggestions :)
 
Hi, what has yours done?my six year old injured his stifle last year following a traumatic accident. I have had X-rays and ultrasound done so far, both of which showed no obvious damage. He came sound in Novber but then was slightly off again in December. He had an injection into the joint at the beguinning of jan and is now looking ok and coming back into work. I don't believe that MRI of the stifle is successful, due to how big a joint it is.habe you had X-rays and ultrasound?i also was not keen for the scope, keeping everything crossed it's not needed.
 
Fatty is on box rest with an injured stifle .
I was told that there is somewhere you get their stifles MRIed but it's very expensive luckily we found our answer on an ultrasound scan .
 
Thank you for your replies :)

She has had her stifle scanned and x-rayed. The Vets thought that the meniscus on the inside looked slightly inflammed so it was injected with steroids.

She then came down with slight steroid induced laminitis, which luckily was caught quickly. So she box rested for two and half weeks and is now back in the field.

The Vets are due to come and see her trotted up in another couple of weeks, however I can see that she is still not quite right in the field.

Vets are pushing for me to have an arthroscopy, but I really don't believe this is the right thing to do.

I have started using the scenar on the stifle, which seems to be helping, I just wanted to explore my other options as my Vets seem to have tunnel vision, instead of looking at the bigger picture iykwim.
 
I may get shot down for this, but my horse nerve blocked lame to the stifle and we just medicated it. No other investigation (it was x rayed a year ago after bone scan showed anomaly but x Ray's were normal and he went completely sound for a long time after) (He is no longer insured and has cost me thousands over the last 12 months in CT scans, bone scans, gastroscopy, muscle biopsy and blood tests all for different things so I hope it doesn't come across that I can't be bothered to investigate!). But he has this morning gone out for an hour and a half hack with a bit of trotting on the road and my friend said its the best she has seen him move in a very long time. He was happy and sound and so I'm willing to continue this experiment without further investigation. The slightest hint of anything amiss and we will reassess. My vet didn't even mention arthroscopy to me and she is hugely experienced.

My horse I will not do box rest with, and cannot due to his muscle disease, he has been bombing around but was still moving beautifully this morning. I just have to take my chances with him as his mental health is just as important as physical.
 
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Mine had stifle problems last year - an arthroscopy was given as the only real route forward. Much against my instinct we went ahead, but he couldn't cope with the box rest and I chose to call it a day - there is no way he would have coped with six months of it, and if I had properly understood how much was required (it happened quickly and was much worse than they'd thought) I wouldn't have put him through it in the first place. If I had another that couldn't cope with box rest, I might consider medicating for as long as it kept the horse pain-free - but I'd be wary of going through an arthroscopy in view of the rest period and likelihood of full recovery.
 
Flipping stifles!!! My chap was x-rayed (I think was x-ray not ultrasound) which showed bone cyst, treated conservatively for almost 9 months with injections etc but no massive improvement. Went in for arthroscopy which was a total success. Never box rested but kept on yard with matted field shelter with quiet companion and gradually given more and more of the arena, all went smoothly and we started walking out (ridden) then just got to trotting was pretty much sound and prognosis was back to full work including hunting.

Stupid horse obviously felt great and hoolied round arena and tore meniscus, this was confirmed by portable ultrasound machine (no power needed) we decided surgery not best option, has been retired and had area drained and injected a few times. Horse is stupid and oblivious to pain and happily gallops round on it then is sore for a while after. Over last year meniscus has settled and floating bits (huge tear) settled down hoping he will continue to improve but be is happy enough, not on bute etc. Hope this helps.

Just to say I would put another through surgery for same thing, it was all very straightforward but I wouldn't box rest for prolonged period but would do same again with yard. I avoided the dreaded in hand walking as he was still moving about on yard, if box rested I think he would still have hoolied round and done meniscus or hurt self in stable.
 
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There is a practice I know of that can MRI stifles, but it is in Gloucestershire...so looking at where you are it would be a bit of a hike! One thing I would say, if you do go for an MRI (which will only give you a name for the problem, hopefully) and they do find something that needs surgical intervention then he may need surgery anyway, just a thought
 
Thank you, lots of food for thought.

My reasoning for the MRI was purely so that I could have a clear picture of how bad the injury is, and then I could make a prpper informed decision on surgery.

She is a sharper type of horse, which is what I want, however it does make rehab quite challenging.

I know things are never clear cut, it is just want to feel at peace with the decisions I need to make over the next few weeks.
 
It's so difficult isn't it. Mine is one that would struggle with complete box rest as well, I have a surface which he turns out on morning and evening and he's being long reined 40min a day, so far that's keeping him sane. Both vet and physio are quite anti turnout at the moment as out fields are quite wet and muddy. It's been a long winter! Good luck and keep us updated!
 
My girl had a stifle arthroscopy purely because we found nothing on any investigative measures.
It went well & she had a damaged meniscus & ruptured cruciate ligament. 4 months of box rest. Very highly strung horse which was interesting.
We have now gone down another path with her injury but she's very much still happy & hacking
 
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