It is possible to realign a knee. Or better put to derotate it. The
positioning of bones at the joints is controlled by the soft tissue. When a
joint space is shortened traumatically the joint rotates.
The equine knee is the Carpal joint, the same as the human wrist. This joint
is made up of a number of bones that articulated with the toes (fingers in
humans). Since the horse is weight bearing through the knee any shortness or
rotation of long duration will result in a change in the shape of the bones.
This is the bodies adaptation to the rotation. In this case any derotation of
this joint may or may not be of therapeutic benefit.
In the human I would definitely de-rotate the carpus especially in the case
of someone with carpal tunnel symptoms. We de-rotate knees, human, even
though they are weight bearing as a matter of course in Rolfing.
In my equine practice I stay away from working below the elbow or the stifle,
simply because changes there are very subtle and I like the client to "see"
what they pay for. Although I do work on my own there and on long term
client's horses, since we've developped trust.
Last winter one of my client horses slipped in a snow drift while being led.
The snow fixed his lower leg and the movement of the body rotated the carpus.
I happened to be at the barn the next day and de-rotated his knee. It's
really no big deal especially if that's where the knee wants to be.
Events