Morphological variations of the infraorbital canal during CT has limited association with headshaking in horses

Headshaking is a common problem in horses. The etiology is unknown but thought to involve sensory input from branches of the trigeminal nerve, some of which are within the infraorbital canal. The objective of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to describe the CT anatomy and variations of the infraorbital canal in horses with local disease processes and normal horses, and to examine associations between those findings and headshaking. Computed tomography scans were reviewed and morphological changes of the infraorbital canal were described. Presence of changes was then tested for association with headshaking prevalence, presence of disease processes in the region of the infraorbital canal, age, and sex. Nonparametric tests were used and a P-value of .05 was considered significant. A total of 218 horses were included, 9% of which had headshaking and 45% had CT lesions in the region of the infraorbital canal. Morphological changes to the bone of the infraorbital canal were found in 121 horses (56%) and included the following: increased mineralization 39 (18%), decreased mineralization 89 (41%), deformed shape 51 (23%), displaced position 43 (20%), and disruption 11 (5%). All changes of the infraorbital canal significantly increased in frequency with the presence of adjacent disease. Increased mineralization and disruption of the infraorbital canal were significantly associated with headshaking in horses with adjacent disease; the latter only reached significance after exclusion of dentally immature horses. No other changes were significantly associated with the presence of headshaking. No association was found between headshaking and the age or sex of the horse.