Dr Sarah Duncan

11/14/2025

THIS! The lumbosacral complex is not talked about nearly enough and so often these horses end up with SI joint injections. I see this area with pain and dysfunction ALL the time in my equine patients.

Dr. Workman treated 171 Lumbosacral joints in the past 12 months. Why? Because it is one of the most problematic junctions in the equine spine- both clinically and also on necropsy results.

The lumbosacral joint is the main point of flexion and extension of the pelvis. This is the spinal section responsible for pelvic flexion and hind limb engagement (NOT the sacroiliac joints or ligaments). This major site of flexion has a central spinal disc section, associated articular facets, intervertebral foramen and the intertransverse joints between L6 and S1. It is mainly flexed through the hypaxial muscles- particularly psoas major. Some studies show alterations to the anatomy between the lumbar spine and sacrum at 30-33%. This means 30% of horses have an underlying structural issue that will cause complications to their ability to flex their pelvis (engage hind end). This structural defect will likely lead to not only lower-level performance but also higher rates of degeneration (arthritis, joint erosion, foramen narrowing, nerve impingement - PAIN).

That is why we treat so many lumbosacral joints and far fewer sacroiliac joints. Clinical exam and detailed ultrasounds can help us determine if this region is problematic in your horses.

10/01/2024

Go team go!

07/27/2024

07/18/2024

05/15/2024

Compensation
The word compensation is used so often that we, perhaps, do not even think how the compensation can look and what it means.
Yes, horses are masters of compensation. They can compensate
– finding strategies or techniques that work around limitations for many reasons. Pain - trying to avoid it, restriction - trying to find other ways to move when for example the saddle is restricting their shoulder movement, imbalanced rider and many more....
The longer the horse compensates, deeply it is 'written' in his soft tissue. We can see overdeveloped muscles (those are sometimes easy to spot), but there are also changes in the fascia.

Those changes didn't happen overnight, so they will not go away overnight.
The body can do miracles but do not expect those to happen today....the body needs time and.....CHANGES!

I can say we can adopt and adapt the saying: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them", to: "We cannot change the soft tissue with the same stimuli that created changes in the first place".

Can you spot the overdeveloped muscles (A) of the horse battling for three years with changed mobility in his carpus?

Also, notice that the deep fascia (on the shoulder) has a different pattern in all horses. That is the most challenging in the mapping of the soft tissue, as I am finding that each horse is adapted to different work, lifestyles or compensates for whatever reasons.

04/20/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/fnmZW3ov4phrSwAm/?mibextid=WC7FNe

11/30/2023

Puppy day!! 😍 All these adorable chihuahuas came for their first adjustments before they head to their new homes. What an amazing way to set them up for success with regulated nervous systems 👐🏽🐶🫶🏼

11/13/2023

Recently we have had a couple of people getting in touch thinking that what we do is similar to some of the viral animal manipulation videos doing the rounds.

Chiropractic for animals should be joint specific and very quick which lessens the force required to deliver the necessary adjustment (I.e. high velocity, low amplitude). The art of chiropractic is finding the joint(s) restricted and using an adjustment to re-initiate optimal motion thereby improving the neurology and motion.

When your animal attends the clinic or we visit your horse, time is taken to make sure they're happy and content to be examined and treated. Watching adjustments is often relatively dull and minimal.

Videos showing fore limb leg separations and massive jerking movements or extreme animal reactions is not chiropractic.

*The post says: “can” look boring. Chiropractic to me is an art where it’s as specific as possible with as much speed as possible which reduces force as much as possible. You don’t have to agree but I won’t tolerate abusive private messages.

07/07/2023

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuUssUDtVde/?igshid=ZTJlZmI4ZjZmNw==

04/09/2023

I love this diagram for illustrating similarities between us ( orthograde ) and quadrupeds ( pronograde ). The biomechanics however are totally different! Horse’s horizontal vertebrae actually make them easier to adjust than our vertically stacked vertebrae.

•• We have “compressive” forces in our spine due to gravity and the fact we stand upright. Our discs essentially ‘hold up’ the vertebrae above them. This is what leads to the loud audible you sometimes get during an adjustment.

•• Quadrupeds’ biomechanical structure is similar to that of a suspension bridge, and they have “shearing/sliding forces” along their spine. This suspension-bridge design is what allows a 1200lb or more of horse to stand on top of 4 comparatively small legs and feet.