Horse Strains and Tears in the Posterior Gluteal
Strains and Tears in the Posterior Gluteal Seam
The seam in conjunction with the gluteal muscles are commonly reactive and hypertonic, this compensatory action develops from pain down the lateral aspect of the hind limb such as the foot, fetlock and hock. This hypertonic action also predisposes the area to strain when the hind limb is in hyperextension, this is due to simultaneous contracture and extension of the region.
If the injury is picked up early it can easily be resolved with acupuncture, heat therapy and the reduction of stress on the area for a few days. However if left untreated there is an intense build up of hypertonicity, scar tissue and inflammation in the deeper gluteal muscles and trochanteric bursae which the gluteal tendon passes over. As the horse continues to work in this state of gluteal hypertonicity the hamstrings and paravertebral muscles are overtaxed as they take up the workload for the injured gluteal region, this can make a diagnosis of the injury difficult as there is hypertonicity over the entire hindquarters.
Shock wave therapy is a very effective method of breaking up this deeper hypertonicity and scar tissue formation and restoring blood flood and tissue strength to region to prevent further re injury. Once the shock wave therapy is used on the injury, rest and slow exercise is recommended.
The acupuncture work-up is very effective diagnosis of muscle tears and strains in the region as well as finding the cause of hypertonicity in the region. As a treatment it can be used to:
