Kissing Spines may be a cute name, but this condition can have serious consequences.
Older horse with signs of 'kissing spines'
Spinal processes are the bony projection off the back of each vertebrae, and there is normally a space between each one. If they come together, this bone-on-bone touch causes excruciating pain.
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“Wrangler” is a sweet, big-hearted gelding, so when he bolted out of the blue in a hunter under saddle class–endangering himself, his rider and the other horses in the arena–owner Anjanette Nicolazzo knew it for what it was: a horse’s cry for help. The only question was: What was wrong?
The dangerous behavior was the culmination of small clues that something was wrong – small flinches while girthing, taking a few steps forward during mounting, hesitating when asked to back up, pawing in his stall.
A trip to Cornell University Hospital for Animals and a complete workup revealed the horse had kissing spines.
Wrangler’s veterinarian at Cornell, Dr. Elaine Claffey, explains. “In the case of ‘kissing spines’ or overriding dorsal spinous processes, we are looking for decreased space between the dorsal spines and changes to the bone density or margins along those processes.”
Spinal processes are the bony projection off the back of each vertebrae, and there is normally a space between each one. If they come together, this bone-on-bone touch causes excruciating pain.
Once Dr. Claffey took X-rays of Wrangler, she didn’t find good news.
“She was very frank with me,” Anjanette says. “She pulled the X-rays up, and you could see right away that Wrangler had kissing spines. Dr. Claffey said it was one of the worst cases she’d ever seen. I froze.”
Dr. Claffey outlined three options: Do corticosteroid injections, which would provide immediate but temporary relief; perform surgery, which had risks but the potential for a more permanent fix; or permanent pasture retirement for the young horse.
“It was a lot,” Anjanette says. “The initial feelings of shock and disbelief were overwhelming. I felt like it was a death sentence for this horse.”
More about "Kissing Spines"
Some controversy surrounds the diagnosis of overriding/ impingement of dorsal spinous processes, also known as "kissing spine."
Impingement occurs when dorsal spinous processes (upward bone projections off of each vertebrae) that are next to each other rub together. Pain is caused by repetitive, traumatic contact between neighboring dorsal processes or from a primary injury to the supporting soft-tissue structures of these vertebrae.
The clinical signs associated with this disease may include reduced mobility of the spine, limited side-to-side back mobility due to muscle spasms, and painful or violent responses when the saddle is placed on the horse or when the rider mounts.
These painful or violent responses associated with saddling or mounting should be differentiated from improper saddle fit. The controversy surrounding kissing spine exists because determining whether vertebrae that touch are actually causing pain is very difficult. Radiography (X-rays) and nuclear scintigraphy (bone scan) can assist in a diagnosis; however, these diagnostic techniques are not the final answer in the diagnosis of kissing spine.
If a diagnosis of kissing spine is highly likely, a combination treatment protocol may include rest, non-steroidal antiinfl ammatory medications, local injections of anti-inflammatory agents, acupuncture for pain, physiotherapy, or, in severe cases, surgery. Prognosis depends on severity and whether bone, supporting soft tissue, or both are involved.
Press release story by Andrea Caudill - Editing and additional information by EquiMed