News Notes

OA of Caudal Cervical Region Common in Warmbloods

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the caudal cervical region is a relatively common finding in radiographs of actively performing Warmblood jumpers, which suggests this finding may be of less clinical significance than previously thought, according to a recent study.

Researchers performed a descriptive study aimed to assess the prevalence of cervical OA in a group of Warmblood jumpers to ascertain its correlation with age, level of performance, neck pain and mobility. During a competition series in California, they enrolled 108 sound Warmblood show jumpers that had competed in at least 10 classes. The median age of the population was 10 years and the median height of the current level of performance was 1.3 m

Cervical pain and range of motion of the neck were subjectively assessed. Lateral radiographs of the cervical spine were taken from C3 to C7 and the presence of OA at the cervical articular process joints (APJs) was evaluated and graded as absent, mild or moderate to severe by 3 board-certified radiologists.

The prevalence of OA increased caudally, with the C6–C7 APJ most commonly affected by OA (63% of horses). Horses competing in higher level classes had significantly higher OA grades at C6–C7. This correlation was not significant for the remaining APJ. There was no association between age, time jumping, neck pain and neck range of motion with the presence of OA on radiographs.

For more information:

Esoinosa-Mur P, Phillips KL, Galuppo LD. Radiological prevalence of osteoarthritis of the cervical region in 104 performing Warmblood jumpers. Equine Vet J. 2020 Nov. 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13383 https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13383