The musculoskeletal system consists of bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Primary functions of the musculoskeletal system include support of the body, provision of motion, and protection of vital organs. The skeletal system serves as the main storage system for calcium and phosphorus and contains critical components of the hematopoietic system. Many other body systems, including the nervous, vascular, and integumentary systems, are interrelated, and disorders of any one of these systems may also affect the musculoskeletal system and complicate diagnosis.
Congenital and inherited anomalies can result in the birth of diseased or deformed neonates. Congenital disorders can be due to viral infections of the fetus or to ingestion of toxic plants by the dam at certain stages of gestation. The musculoskeletal system can also be affected by certain congenital neurologic disorders.
The principal causes of osteodystrophies are deficiencies or imbalances of dietary calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, as well as dysregulation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) activity. Their interrelationships are complex and not easily defined.
Sarcocystosis is an intracellular protozoan infection that is generally asymptomatic but can cause mild gastrointestinal signs, including diarrhea, in cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, dogs, cats, and people. Typical control strategies are to prevent ingestion of prey or raw tissues and to reduce contamination of grass and water with feces of intermediate hosts.
Many arthropathies are developmental, including aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, patellar luxation, osteochondrosis, elbow dysplasia, and hip dysplasia. Other arthropathies are degenerative, infectious or septic, immune-mediated, neoplastic, or traumatic.
Bursitis is an inflammatory reaction within a bursa. The causes can range from overuse, mild trauma, or severe trauma to sepsis. Bursitis in its various forms is more common and a more important cause of dysfunction in horses than in other species. It can be classified as true bursitis or acquired bursitis. True bursitis is inflammation in a normal bursa that is naturally present. Some examples are trochanteric bursitis, supraspinous bursitis ( fistulous withers), and bicipital bursitis. Acquired bursitis is development of a subcutaneous bursa where one was not previously present and inflammation of that bursa. Examples of acquired bursitis include capped elbow over the olecranon, and capped hock over the tuber calcaneus (when a natural bursa was not present). Accumulation of fluid in acquired bursitis is termed hygroma.
Bovine secondary recumbency is defined as the inability of cattle to rise and stand for a period of at least 12–24 hours, resulting from the delayed or unsuccessful treatment of a different primary cause of recumbency. "Downer cow syndrome" is a colloquial term that more broadly refers to the inability of cattle to rise and stand for a period of at least 12–24 hours for undetermined reason. Treatment is guided by the cause; supportive care is of major importance to improving the prognosis. Animal welfare considerations are paramount in guiding the overall management of affected cows.
Muscle disorders in horses are associated with a variety of clinical signs ranging from muscle stiffness and pain to muscle atrophy, weakness, exercise intolerance, and muscle fasciculations. The most common clinical signs are muscle pain, stiffness, and reluctance to move due to rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis (ie, disruption of striated skeletal muscle) can broadly be grouped into causes associated with exercise (exertional rhabdomyolysis) and causes unrelated to exercise.
Lameness is a painful condition that affects the locomotor system of cattle and has a detrimental effect on health, welfare, and productivity. It is caused mainly by hoof lesions; it can also be due to joint diseases, traumatic injuries, and neurologic disease.
Abnormal gait in goats is a nonspecific sign common to many diseases and conditions. A thorough history is important for diagnosis and should include incidence and duration in the individual or herd, nutrition, feed changes, method of rearing, and recent introductions to the herd. (Also All.see chapter Preventative Health Care and Husbandry of Goats.)
Lameness is defined as an abnormal stance or gait caused by either a structural or a functional disorder of the locomotor system. The horse is either unwilling or unable to stand or move normally. Lameness is the most common cause of loss of use in horses. It can be caused by trauma, congenital or acquired disorders, infection, metabolic disorders, neurologic deficits or circulatory system disease.
Imaging techniques provide important pathologic and physiologic information necessary to treat specific conditions. Imaging can be divided into anatomic and physiologic methods. Anatomic imaging methods include radiology, ultrasonography, CT, and MRI. Physiologic imaging methods include scintigraphy and thermography. When diagnostic analgesia has failed to eliminate the lameness, the lameness is too subtle for localization by diagnostic analgesia, or the horse is not amenable to handling or injection, physiologic imaging techniques may help narrow the problem to a specific region. Anatomic imaging methods can then be used to evaluate those areas. Imaging may also help prevent injury. This requires early detection of the physiologic changes associated with injury. Although frequent use of an anatomic imaging method can detect change in one region, physiologic imaging allows assessment of the entire horse on a routine basis.
In pigs, as in other animals, the term "lameness" refers to an abnormal gait. The cause of lameness in pigs may be musculoskeletal, neurological, or integumentary in origin, and may be of traumatic, infectious, nutritional, or developmental etiology. Affected pigs may be visibly limping, unable to rise, or simply less inclined to move to feed and water troughs; swollen joints or hoof lesions may also be apparent. Examination for lameness in pigs involves comprehensive evaluation of the facility and herd, as well as the affected individual animals. Diagnostics include necropsy, nutritional analysis, and infectious disease testing. Given the nature of production medicine, treatment for lameness in pigs is most often directed at an appropriate management change to prevent additional cases, rather than treatment of the individual animal.
Lameness in sheep is often due to injuries. Limb fractures are common in young lambs, which are frequently injured inadvertently by adults. Usually, limb splints and casts may be used for stabilization of injuries, with fractures healing within 3–6 weeks. However, leaving the limb immobilized and unobserved for too long may also lead to iatrogenic lameness. The general principles of treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries are the same as in other species.
Clinical signs of musculoskeletal disorders include weakness, lameness, limb swelling, and joint dysfunction. Motor or sensory neurologic impairment may develop secondary to neuromuscular lesions. Abnormalities of the musculoskeletal system may also affect other organs of the endocrine, urinary, digestive, hemolymphatic, and cardiopulmonary systems.