I would like to find out if anyone has dealt with a supraspinous ligament (SSL) injury and what kind of recovery protocol was followed (ie. time off riding, stall rest, shockwave, anti-inflammatories, etc.)? Also, I’m curious to find out if anyone has had a horse recover fully from an SSL injury and return to full work without complications?
Yes, returned to full work though injury was minor and took it very slow. Did 3 rounds of shockwave which helped immensely. 6 months no riding but lots of in hand work and full individual turnout to keep him loose and moving. Could have started him back sooner (ultrasound showed it was healed at 3 months) but it was winter and I was busy so I let him have the time. Injected his SI when returning to work because it was sore from compensating for SSL injury. Did lots and lots of walking, gentle lateral work and adding in hills. Lots of carrot stretches before and after work. Made sure he was shod well with good balance behind to help support the hind end and back strengthening. Did do one more round of shockwave to both sides of lumbar region about 1.5 years later due to mild soreness from increased collection at canter. Not sure if it was related to original injury but it helped. Still do regular stretching and nice long warm up with lateral work and hills to keep him strong but it’s probably not as necessary, more a routine at this point.
Funny you should ask this. I went to a presentation last night on all kinds of neck/back/pelvis issues. One of the things they showed was a case where a horse had a nice hole in the supraspinous ligament. The vet said in that horse’s case, they did some shockwave and rest. I think the horse started back to work after 3 months. They did an ultrasound about once a month. They said you could treat it like other ligament issues and go in with PRP, stem cells, etc. but they did not do that for that particular horse.
