MENSURAÇÃO DA ÁREA SECCIONAL DO MÚSCULO MULTÍFIDUS DE EQUINOS DE SALTO POR MEIO DA ULTRASSONOGRAFIA

Abstract

BELO AGUIAR Rafaela, Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas- UNIS MG, novembro de 2021. Measurement of the sectional area of the Multifidus muscle of jumping horses using ultrasonography. Advisor Prof. Ma. Bruna Maria Ribeiro.

The equestrian sport of jumping is the best known in equestrianism. And the spine plays a fundamental role in the practice of this sport, where the horse and rider need the harmony of strength and technique to win between obstacles scattered around the track in the shortest possible time. They can come in the form of a wall, fences, triple bars, water ditches and double poles. The height of the obstacles ranges from 0.20cm to 1.65cm, depending on the category. The athletic sport of jumping brings great muscular demand on the animals, as they are forced to overcome barriers, often higher than their own height. The great physical capacity of the horse has a well-developed bone and muscle structure. The multifidus muscle is a series of small muscle units that originate from the transverse, articular and nipple processes and are inserted in the adjacent spinous processes, comprising from two to four vertebrae and innervated by the dorsal spinal branches. This muscle plays a large role in vertebral stability and proprioception, in addition to having the function of extending the neck and assisting, flexing and rotating the neck. The present study aimed to measure the area of the multifidus muscle in the thoracolumbar region of Brazilian Equestrian (BH) jumping horses who do not present low back pain through ultrasound, determining the mean area and standard deviation of this muscle in this breed in points specific. Twelve horses, of both sexes, aged between 4 and 14 years were used. The animals were contained in the trunk and for each image obtained, the muscle area was measured three times by the same person. The result showed the mean value of the cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle in the left antimere ranged from 15.0 to 16.3 cm2 and in the right antimere from 14.8 to 15.8 cm2. In addition, the observed values of standard deviation reinforce the expected physiological variation between antimeres and between animals even being of a single species, breed and sporting aptitude. The present study can demonstrate that it is not difficult to measure m. Multifidus and such assessment is essential for proper clinical examination of the spine and physical therapy assessment, as well as measuring changes in size over time in sports treatments and follow-ups.