Laminitis and rotation -- has recent research defined a new term for "rotation" in the context of laminitis?
Did you know that, with advances in digital radiography systems, we can now see the different soft tissue layers of the digit?
This helps us to clarify and redefine what we mean by P3 displacement in laminitis and whether it can be caused by the farrier.
The implications for the current argument on laminitis are blindingly obvious! Two distinct layers of the hoof wall can now be seen with the manipulation of X-rays: a superficial layer consisting of the stratum externum and stratum medium, which appears as more solid white, and a deeper ‘hoof lucent zone’ consisting of the stratum internum (the lamellae) and dermis parietis (the sublamellar dermis).
This ‘lamellar lucent zone’ (LLZ) corresponds with the lamellae and sublamellar dermis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and can be reliably measured radiographically with X-ray manipulation.
Importantly, LLZ measurements, unlike measurements from the outer hoof wall, are not affected by hoof wall trimming. Therefore, increases in the LLZ correspond with the physical changes in the SADP that occur in the late stages of acute laminitis.
Research has clearly shown significant increases in dorsal LLZ measurements in lateromedial radiographs of horses with acute and subacute laminitis compared with a healthy control group.
In conclusion, it is abundantly clear that an increased dorsal LLZ, which defines the term rotation in the context of laminitis, is a result of the effects of the systemic syndrome laminitis on the SADP.
This increase can also be seen as a hoof wall distal phalangeal distance (HDPD) and, of course, corresponds with the measurements from the proximal and distal aspects of P3 to the outer hoof wall, as seen in the images made with HoofmApp.
The argument is therefore no longer about whether “rotation” occurs and whether it’s the hoof care professionals’ fault, but rather whether having a foot trimmed around its entire periphery to the hard sole mitigates laminitic rotation.
This then creates more questions as to this trimming method's practicability within different domestic settings and environments, and a much wider debate about domestic management as a whole.
This is the discussion and research that should be occurring, which would be much more in the interests of the horse!
For a full article on my literature review on the argument at large >>
https://lnkd.in/dFVyCh5g
🗣📣 Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar on what happens during laminitis!
#laminitis #hoofcare
