THE dorsal spinous processes (“dorsal spines”) are the flat, thin bones that stick up from the top of the vertebrae of the back. Each thoracic and lumbar vertebra has a dorsal spine – they line up, one behind the other. In an X-ray or on the anatomical skeleton they look like closely spaced fingers. Sometimes, they seem too closely spaced, because as the vertebrae move the dorsal spines impinge on one another and bone changes occur where they “kiss” together.
These “kissing spine” changes include bone erosion, bone thickening and bone remodelling. In some horses such changes are painful and if a horse has diagnosed back pain, the possibility of kissing spines will be investigated.
Treatments include anti-inflammatory injections between the spines and surgical shaving of the bones to make the spaces wider.
This story is from the April 27, 2023 edition of Horse & Hound.
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This story is from the April 27, 2023 edition of Horse & Hound.
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Rider Denies Doping After Team Loses Olympic Placing - Tine Magnus and the Belgian team said they do not know the source of the drug that caused the positive test
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