Identification of subclinical tendon injury from ground reaction force analysis.

In this study a method of analysing ground reaction forces was developed to help in the diagnosis of subclinical flexor tendon injury. A Kistler force plate was used to obtain records from a population of Thoroughbreds in National Hunt training over a period of two years. Characteristic features of the force patterns generated were measured and shown to have low variance, both between horses and over a period of two racing seasons in animals that were sound throughout the trial. Specific changes in the loading pattern of the limb, which correlated with injury of the superficial digital flexor tendon, were identified from horses that sustained clinical injury during the study. Retrospective analysis showed that changes became apparent in the force patterns before this group of horses exhibited clinical lameness. This type of analysis provides an objective means of detecting tendon injury at an early stage.