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The Use of Electromyography Including Interference Pattern Analysis to Determine Muscle Force of the Deep Digital Flexor Muscle in Case of Equine Laminitis
Author(s) -
Hardeman L.C.,
Meij B.R.,
Back W.,
Kolk J.H.,
Wijnberg I.D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/evj.12486_36
Subject(s) - pony , laminitis , medicine , horse , electromyography , anatomy , biology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , paleontology , genetics
Reasons for performing study In cases of laminitis, an increased muscle force or contracture of the deep digital flexor muscle ( DDFM ) is suggested, but evidence‐based research is lacking. Objectives To test if the DDFM of laminitic equines shows an increased muscle force detectable by needle‐ EMG including Interference Pattern Analysis ( IPA ). Study design Cross‐sectional study. Methods Three groups consisted of Group 0 (control): 6 Royal Dutch Sport horses, 3 Shetland ponies and one Welsh pony (healthy, sound adults, mean ± s.d. weight 411 ± 217 kg). Group 1: 3 Royal Dutch Sport horses, one Friesian, one Haflinger, one Icelandic horse, 2 Welsh ponies, one miniature Appaloosa and 6 Shetland ponies (adults, mean ± s.d. weight 310 ± 172 kg) suffering from acute or chronic laminitis. EMG measurements including firing frequency ( F ) and IPA parameters Turns/Second (T), Amplitude/Turn (M) and Ratio M/T (R) were performed. ANOVA was used to analyse data. P values of P<0.05 were considered significant. Results Mean ± s.d. F of Group 0 and Group 1 was 53 ± 11 and 72 ± 21 Hz, mean ± s.d. T was 112 ± 57 and 106 ± 42, mean ± s.d. M was 284 ± 51 and 254 ± 38 μV and mean ± s.d. R was 0.39 ± 0.17 and 0.42 ± 0.16%, respectively. The firing frequency of Group 1 was significantly higher compared to Group 0 (P = 0.02), whereas other differences were not significant. Conclusions In human medicine, an increased firing frequency is a characteristic of increased muscle force [1,2]. Thus, the increased firing frequency of the DDFM in case of laminitis suggests an elevated muscle force. As all parameters show a high variance, a repeated study including a larger test group is advised. Ethical animal research: Data collection from controls was approved by the Animal Welfare Committee of Utrecht University, approval number 2008. III .07.061 and 2013. III .01.012. Clinical cases were privately owned and written owner consent was obtained. Source of funding: None. Competing interests: None declared.