Muscle calcification-- anyone have experience with this?

[blob99]

Like most things, there is a long story here, but I will try to keep it brief.

My horse had some NQR issues going on, particularly in the canter. After several diagnostics and addressing some other issues as well, it seemed like the SI was the culprit and ultimately decided on SI injection might be the correct route.

When the vet went to do the ultrasound, she noticed some calcification in the muscle around the SI joint. She said it looks like the result of an old injury. My horse had several owners before I got him, so his history is not well known. So, I don’t know the details of the injury that must have resulted int his calcification.

Vet said biggest issue was that this made the area weaker, more prone to injuries. I was hoping to hear from others what, if anything, they were able to do to strengthen an area where a past injury had led to calcification and how successful they were in keep the area pain free.

[Critter]

I had one that developed an area of calcification in the elbow region, I think it was in the biceps brachii tendon. The mare did have a kick to that area (hoof mark abrasion, but never was lame at the time).

We tried shock wave and it did nothing. I also tried therapeutic ultrasound to break up the calcification…also no change.

However, she did develop a very minor lameness on that leg over time…was also a little club footed. Chicken versus egg scenario. Ultimately, she was a really tough ride (if a horse could be autistic, it was this one!)…she finally was rideable on Trazadone, but then you could see the slight asymmetry in the gait.

I ended up giving her to a teaching hospital as a embryo transplant mare, since she was sweet and mostly easy as long as you weren’t riding her or changing her environment too much! It was the softest landing I could manage for her…she lives in a big herd in a huge pasture with a bunch of other recipient mares and teaches vet students how to track cycles/do repro work.

[blob99]

Thanks, @Critter, I was definitely hoping for a more optimistic story. But it’s valuable to know that you tried the shock wave and therapeutic ultrasound (both of which my vet suggested) and that it didn’t really do much of anything.

Sounds like you did great by your mare.

[Critter]

So this was the image…totally unchanged after two shockwave treatments and 6 weeks of therapeutic ultrasound. I mean those things didn’t seem to cause harm either, so I can’t say it wasn’t worth a try. I had access to an ultrasound and know the parameters, so I was able to do those treatments on my own, so no real cost there.

[GoodTimes]

We had success with shockwave on my mom’s gelding. When he was 7 or 8 he came up lame on the right hind, gave him some time off, but he ended up with a chronic hitch. Regular vet convinced us to try Adequan which made no difference. Took him to a lameness specialist, they did x-rays of everything and it all looked good, but they couldn’t give us a diagnosis.
Took him to an old timey racetrack vet who watched him trot, and said that based on his over muscled hamstrings that he suspected he had pulled something back there and now is was scarred/calcified and he had a mechanical lameness. Did a round of shockwave and he was sound within a couple days. Stayed sound for about six months and it started to come back, did another round of shockwave and again he was immediately sound. It was never an issue again. He showed multiple seasons up to 1.10m.
He was retired at 18 (he’s 20 now) due to weak hind suspensories.

[blob99]

that is promising! I guess it is worth trying the shockwave to see if it makes any difference.

Do you have any idea how old your mom’s geldings injury was at the time you started shockwave? I’m wondering if how old an injury is plays a role in how well the shockwave works and unfortunately I think I am dealing with something at least 5+ years old.

[IPEsq]

Do you have images of the ultrasound? I was also wondering based on location if this might have been steroid induced calcification. A lot of people use Depo Medrol for SI injections but repeated use can cause some calcification. I don’t know that I’ve used it enough in a horse to know what that would look like. But it was a potential complication I talked about with my small animal vet for my cat who would get some IM Depo Medrol to control asthma flares in situations where daily oral medication was difficult.

[GoodTimes]

The injury would have been at least a year old, maybe even two years old. I remember thinking that we lost a season or two of showing while he was young and my mom would have footed the bill back then

[blob99]

That’s really interesting…I don’t have an image of the ultrasound.

It’s definitely possible he’s had SI injections before he came to me, but it being done repeatedly would be surprising, though definitely not impossible! What I know about his history is that he was with his breeder until age 3 and then sold. But between the breeder and coming to me at age 6, he had 7 different owners. The person I got him from only had him 6 months and the person she got him from only had him 3. So I’m guessing he wasn’t with any one person long enough to get repeated injections. Though multiple owners could have given them