Sacroiliac Ligament damage

[sandy7]

Having recently changed vets my new vet noticed my horses left hip was slightly higher than the right and thinks he has damaged his sacroiliac ligament at some point. He said as the injury was probably old there was nothing he could do about it and as long as he is sound there shouldn't be a problem.
However, my boy is quite stiff on his right side, unwilling to bend and tends to lean on the bit on this rein. i had previously put this down to him being a green 5 year old but am now wondering if he could be in pain due to this old injury.

Has anyone else had a similar injury and although my vet says there's nothing he can do would it be worth getting a physio out to see him?

 

[kildalton]

Pm Kath_and _Corroy as her mare damaged her sacro iliac ligament, but came right in the end with a wonderful physio. (Kand C is my daughter so she won't mind you PM'ing her.)

 

[sandy7]

Thanks very much!

 

[Peanot]

Hi, my mare has had one hip slightly higher than the other, a couple of times but with treatment from a chiro/massager each time, she has made a full recovery. It can happen through a fall, rolling awkwardly or slipping either in the field or in the stable.
It is usually a case of the back muscles being in spasm and so being shorter on one side and it pulls the muscles forward, looking like the hip is more forward or higher on one side. This also causes stiffness through the back etc, so if I were you, I would definately get it checked by a chiro/massage person. Good luck.

 

[puddicat]

Hmmm young vet or old vet? Most horses are asymmetrical behind, there are many possible causes and sacroiliac ligament damage is one of the less likely. The vet's comment that there's nothing you could do about it is right if it is the SI ligament but it would be interesting to know how certain he/she was that the cause was not due to something else. The first thing I'd suggest if the horse is one-sided is to exercise it using appropriate school figures until its even, then see if it still appears asymmetrical behind.

 

[hotheaded]

Hi,
sacroiliac damage is irreversible but not necessarily a huge problem. Under no circumstances should you trot up steep hills as this particualr gait places huge strain on the pelvis. Either walk up them or canter up them.
Yes you should definately get a physio out. By the sounds of him being odd on different reins he needs deep tissue massage to allow him to work evenly. I can highly reccomend equine body workers. This deep tissue massage will help to level out the pelvis again allowing him to work more evenly.
Definately don't get a chiropractor out. Under no circumstances should the pelvis be manipulated. This would cause further damage.

 

[puddicat]

Hmmm interesting....

Please can you explain why trot in particular places huge strains on the pelvis and why canter is preferable? What is your basis for believing this? I think you are dangerously wrong. Apart from being easily demonstrated by simple mechanics there are many research studies that show the load on the pelvis increases with speed and acceleration. So cantering will put more load on the pelvis than trot.

Also I'd like to know the basis of your rather dogmatic advice that aq chiropracter could cause further damage.? In what way could a single human influence a structure that requires a dynamic load of several tonnes to cause it any damage whatsoever?

 

[hotheaded]

I am not stating that all chiropractic work is damaging. They do have their place. However, the pelvis is a structure not designed to have excesive movememnt in the SI. Essentially this structure is held together and functions via an extensive ligament structure amongst the obvious musculature. Ligaments have no blood supply, and therefore when stretched over time can never return to their former state. Once the SI ligaments are stretched this leaves the pelvis essentially weaker as it relies far more heavily on the bone structure itself and the musculature. Therefoe if this horse has sacroiliac ligament damage it should not be manipulated as this would cause further stretching and therefore further weakness. Deep tissue work would be a far more advantagious therapy for this particular injury.
Your belief that human influence can in no way effect an equine structure concerns me. If any joint is manipulated in a certain fashion, no matter how large or how much sustained force and dynamic load it can take, there is potential to either do it some good or damage it further.
As far as the gait issue is concerned I too know of several studies backing what I say. What I say is far from dangerous it is obviously however a different opinion from yours. When in trot it has been proven that far more stress and contractile force is placed on the gluteal muscles and pelvis as the momentum is created whist the pelvic ligaments are already at full stretch. During canter this momentum is created at a lesser angle meaning the ligaments are put under force when not at full stretch, therefore thay are not as likely to over stretch or damage the pelvis. I din't mention anything about acceleration and speed. You can indeed canter as steadily as you can trot. I am not talking about galloping your horse up a hill but a controlled rhymical canter. My advice is far from dogmatic. It is educated and scientifically backed. Clearly in any topic there will be a difference of opinions and i am always open to other peoples views.