Musculoskeletal scintigraphy of the equine athlete

Nuclear scintigraphic examination of equine athletes has a potentially important role in the diagnosis of lameness or poor performance, but increased radiopharmaceutical uptake (IRU) is not necessarily synonymous with pain causing lameness. Nuclear scintigraphy is highly sensitive to changes in bone turnover that may be induced by loading and knowledge of normal patterns of RU is crucial for accurate diagnosis. Blood pool images can be useful for identification of some soft tissue injuries, although acute bone injuries may also have intense IRU in blood pool images. Some muscle injuries may be associated with IRU in bone phase images. The use of scintigraphy together with other diagnostic imaging modalities has helped us to better understand the mechanisms of some musculoskeletal injuries. In immature racehorses, stress-related bone injury is a common finding and may be multifocal, whereas in mature sport horses, a very different spectrum of injuries may be identified. False-negative results are common with some injuries.