Chiropractic evaluation in newborn foals: A preliminary study

Abstract

This paper describes the more frequent chiropractic alterations in healthy and sick foals. The assessment is performed through a motion palpation exam, which locates the hypomobile joints along the skeleton. The motion palpation exam allowed the identification of multiple hypomobile areas in neonatal foals. The sick foals presented a statistically significant higher number of hypomobile joints in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar regions and limbs compared to the healthy foals. The most frequent alterations in sick foals involved the atlantooccipital joint, C5-C6, T14-T15, L5-L6, the sacrococcygeal joint and the scapulohumeral joint. In both groups, high prevalence of alterations occurred at the cervical and sacroiliac joints. The results show that some regions can be highly stressed during the perinatal period, especially in sick foals. Possible explanations are discussed. Chiropractic evaluation and subsequent manipulation could be routinely used to improve neonatal health, especially in sick foals.