Front Suspensory Desmitis
The suspensory ligament is divided into three separate regions that can incur injury: the proximal, body and
branches. The front limb suspensory originates from the palmar carpal ligament and the proximal aspect of the
third metacarpal bone (cannon bone). A pulling away of the suspensory from the cannon bone is called an
avulsion fracture. Each branch attaches to the sesamoid bones at the back of the fetlock and then transverses
the pastern to join the dorsal digital extensor tendon. The overall function of the suspensory ligament is to
prevent excessive extension of the fetlock. Injury occurs when forces cause excessive stretch, tearing or rupture
of the fibers. Varied lameness results with animals ranging from being only mildly sore, to intermittent lameness,
to experiencing thickening and warmth in the local area and unfortunately rupture of the ligament as the fetlock
“sinks” toward the ground. Diagnostics usually include a combination of lameness exam, nerve blocking,
ultrasound, radiography and nuclear scintigraphy. Treatment usually includes stall rest with a rehabilitation
therapy consisting of progressive hand walking along with new therapies such as shockwave, A cell, stem cell, and
fasciotomy
The suspensory contains a variable amount of muscle tissue and is sometimes referred to as the middle
interosseous muscle. The hardest part of getting any suspensory lesions to heal is the lack of blood supply to the
area. All of the above therapies are centered on increasing the local circulation and helping the animal develop
healthy ligament tissue instead of scar tissue to fill in the lesions.
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) treatment is centered on strengthening the ligaments, increasing
circulation of qi and blood, nourishing Liver blood and relieving pain.
Both the summer of 2005 and 2006 I was blessed with getting to work on quite a few racehorses with suspensory
soreness. The horses with major lesions were sent to the farm for rest and did not receive acupuncture. One
horse whose ultrasound showed significant lesions received treatments prior to going to the farm and it decreased
his recovery time from 6 months to 3 months. The remaining 8 horses received acupuncture either 1 or 2 times
per week. Not only were they able to stay in work but also they returned to full work in 4 weeks. In addition, the
horses have not had a recurrence. The horses, owners, trainers and myself were very happy with the results.