Stall Calls with Dr. Bruce Indek: Low Back and Hock Issues
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Author: Dr. Bruce Indek
The Hock of your horse is the anatomical equivalent to your heel and Achilles tendon. The muscle just above the hock would be equal to your calf muscle. Many times I see owners getting the hocks injected for swelling and inflammation. The injection is great for reducing the pain and swelling but what about the cause. That’s right the cause….mmmmmm…. How about the low back. The hock issue can cause strain on the low back and the low back can put strain on the hock.
Many owners never find out why the hocks continue to get irritated. The low back can have subluxations and or muscle strain which will cause your horse to push harder off the hock. Sometimes your Vet may tell you it is a conformation problem combined with the work you are asking of your horse. This may be true in some cases but what can be done to minimize the stress and resultant inflammation? This question usually revolves around getting the hocks injected periodically. You have to think about it this way.. the hock inflammation is a symptom and injecting the symptom does not fix the cause, ie spraying water on the smoke detector instead of the fire somewhere else in the house. So what can be done?
Many times there may be a subluxation complex {joints irritating nerves} within the sacroiliac [pelvic joint] inhibiting collection and adding hock stress. Sometimes there can be a muscle issue with trigger points within the calf muscle equivalent causing tension in the Achilles tendon. This Achilles tendon tension may result in abnormal hock movement and inflammation. The stifle may even have a hand in the altered movement. To add to all of this there may even be a lower cervical [neck] subluxation causing erroneous biomechanics in the spine and transfer the abnormal weight shift of your horse to the hocks. Finally there may be a hoof issue causing the problem as well.
What can you do about all this. Well first of all beyond hock injections having an Equine Chiropractor evaluate your horse for subluxation and biomechanics along with your farrier is imperative. The biomechanics[how your horse moves] of the entire horse is often never addressed. If there is not an inborn abnormality within the hocks [rare] or a disease process then the cause must be biomechanical and your chiropractor and farrier are experts in this field.
Dr. Bruce Indek has been in Chiropractic Practice since 1983. He graduated from National College of Chiropractic, and has been treating riders and other athletes. He is certified by the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council in Sports Injuries. He is the Director of Chiropractic for the Boston Marathon. Dr. Bruce is a graduate of Options for Animals Chiropractic College and Board Certified in Animal Chiropractic by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. He worked on the New England Dressage Spring and Fall Festival in Saugerties NY, travels throughout the USA
treating horses and riders from Dressage to Barrel Racing, and is on the Panel for “Ask
the Expert” for Dressage Today, and Chronicle for the Horse online articles. He is a contributing writer for the Pet Gazette in Eastern Massachusetts. Dr. Indek is also alevel one dressage rider.
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