Pain & Gait Analysis
Unraveling mechanisms of pain and advancing lameness recognition to improve quality of life
Pain, including lameness, is a key clinical sign in (humans and) animals with musculoskeletal disorders, ultimately decreasing welfare. In degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis and lower back pain due to disc degeneration, these symptoms are often recognised at a late stage, complicating effective treatment. This is further challenged by the poor correlation between pain and radiographic findings.
Our multidisciplinary team investigates the mechanisms underlying osteoarthritis and low back pain by examining how changes in joint and disc tissues relate to pain and how pain influences movement. Using advanced gait analysis systems such as Qhorse and Equi-Pro, we explore complex questions around movement and function. In parallel, we develop innovative tools to refine pain and gait assessment, including grimace scales, computer vision models, and surface EMG to further also meet an unfulfilled need in objective gait analysis in dogs and horses. From tissue to entire animal, our research addresses all facets of musculoskeletal pain.
Pain recognition and understanding
Understanding how joint inflammation and nerves drive pain in osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is more than cartilage wear; it affects the whole joint. This includes the synovium, the thin tissue lining the inside of the joint capsule, which plays a key role in inflammation and pain. However, osteoarthritis does not affect only the joint itself. As a chronic condition, it also leads to progressive changes in the nervous system over time.
Changes occur in the dorsal root ganglia, small clusters of nerve cells located near the spine that collect sensory information from the body, such as pain and touch, and send this information via the spinal cord to the brain. As osteoarthritis progresses, this pain-signaling system becomes altered, making patients more sensitive to pain.
To better understand how joint tissues and nerves change during osteoarthritis, we use advanced techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing to study individual cells in detail. We also employ and develop sophisticated laboratory models that mimic joint tissues, including synovium and nerve tissue, helping us to unravel the biological processes that contribute to pain in osteoarthritis.
We want to better understand the processes that contribute to pain in osteoarthritis
Anesthesiology
Pain assessment in equids has been studied extensively in the past decades. Horses and also donkeys tend to hide their signs of pain and since they cannot verbally express their emotions, objective pain assessment remains challenging. We have contributed to this field of research by using composite pain scales that use several different signs and behaviors and scoring systems based on facial expression. We aim to study the assessment of acute and chronic pain in horses and donkeys and have implemented a smartphone application to this aim (EPWA). Current studies are focusing on signs of pain in neonatal foals, horses after emergency gastrointestinal surgery, application of pain scales in working equids in Egypt, educational tools to train people for objective pain assessment and artificial intelligence-based recognition of facial expressions of pain.
By learning more about objective pain assessment in horses and donkeys, we aim to support and improve their welfare
Gait analysis
Developing systems to monitor lameness in horses
Horses are domesticated for their movement capabilities, making lameness an urgent problem for their welfare. By performing gait analysis in multiple ways, we can objectively assess lameness, but also monitor horses over time for early detection and evaluate individual treatment programmes. Using state-of-the-art gait analysis systems, we quantify forces acting upon the body, the horses’ movement, as well as muscle activity. In addition, we currently work on providing a scientific body of evidence on physiotherapeutic exercises for horses, helping veterinarians make evidence-based decisions when setting up rehabilitation programmes.
Gait analysis bridges research and clinical care, enabling earlier detection and tailored, evidence-based treatment of lameness in horses
Developing tools to recognise and monitor lameness in dogs
Lameness in dogs is one of the most common problems in primary veterinary practice. Studying gait can provide objective insights into pain and lameness, which are often difficult to detect visually. We currently use kinetic gait analysis to capture detailed movement and force patterns in dogs. Inspired by advanced gait analysis systems in horses, we aim to improve gait assessment technology for canine patients. We try to develop a computer vision model for automated analysis. Together, these approaches support better disease monitoring, treatment evaluation, and clinical decisions of veterinarians.
Objective gait analysis could transform how veterinarians detect, monitor, and treat lameness in dogs
