tika
Olympic Poster
Rolo
Posts: 828
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Post by tika on Aug 6, 2005 17:31:16 GMT 1
Does anyone else suffer with back problems and do you have any tips to save your back when mucking ou riding and looking after your horse? I have a sprained sacroilliac joint whic is being really aggrevated, and painful. May have to think about selling my horse eventually, but will give it a year and try to get round things. Am considering full livery but so expensive, will eventually get own land, and horse out most of time, so just poo pick field. OH very helpful! Any advice!
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silv
Elementary Poster
Taz
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Post by silv on Aug 6, 2005 17:44:03 GMT 1
Hi, I have noticed a huge difference since having rubber matting and only having a 1/4 size bed. I dont hand pick out poos anymore either......always use the shavings fork trying to keep back straight(ish!)
Know your sensible limits of weight carrying! Not how much you can lift or push.....but how little you should!
Dont over fill a barrow when poo picking......just make an extra journey to muck heap.
It really is about being sensible.
Have also found my treeless saddle better for my back.
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Ann NF
Grand Prix Poster
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 4,495
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Post by Ann NF on Aug 6, 2005 17:52:36 GMT 1
Hi Tika, I have had a "dodgy disc" in my neck for many years ( can cause pain in neck and back) and it does restrict lifting and the kind of riding I can do. I suppose I`m always aware of making it worse which makes me a less confident rider. However, if you just work within what is comfortable then it is possible to do most things on the ground . I`m happy to be a happy hacker nowadays.
Poo picking - I always use the poo picking "dustpan and scraper" machines as you don`t have to bend down as far as the old bucket and Marigold gloves system. I empty wheelbarrows before they get full and heavy. I use a trolley to move feed bags, bales of shavings and hay bales around. Mine is just a lightweight one from a garden centre. I fill water buckets from a hosepipe if possible and if I have to carry a bucket then it will be only half full. Riding - I don`t do too much sitting trot . My youngster isn`t cantering out yet but with my now retired pony, I often cantered in a forward position to avoid too much jolting. I hope you back pain settles down soon. There are lots of us on here with dodgy backs. I would definitely rather carry on within limitations than stop horses altogether.
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Post by nikki on Aug 6, 2005 18:43:56 GMT 1
I used to get a lot of back and hip pain. Luckily I have an excellent Chiropractor who sorts me out. I've noticed a huge improvement since taking up Pilates. My back is very much more flexible and can cope with every day stresses and strains.
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knk
Advanced Poster
Posts: 420
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Post by knk on Aug 6, 2005 19:56:41 GMT 1
Hi - I used to get a really bad back, have an orthopedic bed etc and massages from big sis, but when I bought a new saddle it seemed to improve. Also, Dr was not interested as I was only young when I first noticed it, I was thinking along the Chiropractor route - but too scared (heard they can be painfull).
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Post by Shaz on Aug 6, 2005 21:38:01 GMT 1
Hi Never been on this site before , but as a back pain sufferer, the things I do to help are to always give 2 smaller buckets of water instead and carry one in each hand, that way you are balanced - bend your knees when you pick them up! I feed hay on the floor so I don't have to haul haynets up, which is better for the horse as well. Plastic shavings forks are lighter than metal ones. If mine is really sore I put the poos etc into a laundry basket which has a rope on one end and I drag it to the muck heap instead of lifting it up. This may sound a bit drastic, but is your horse suitable for you? If I ride my friends Welsh which has short choppy strides and is quite bouncy or another friends cob which has a fairly jarring action I have a sore back afterwards. My own horse is a thoroughbred and has a much longer and smoother action - (those great long pasterns are fantastic shock absorbers) which doesn't bother my back at all (except when he does one of his monster spooks!) Make sure your horse lifts his feet up to a voice command so you don't have to bend right down to lift them and ensure he doesn't lean on you when you pick them out. Have your horse lead quietly without pulling you and make sure he goes through gates and turns to face you and doesn't pull you as you try and hold the gate while he tries to find his friends! Ride well! If you are slouched in the saddle or ramrod stiff you will put more strain on your back. Get on from a mounting block, not the ground and if you remember your old riding lessons, it can help to alternate which side you mount from (it gives everyone a laugh anyway!)
I avoid painkillers now, as if my back is sore it is my body's way of saying ' don't do that like that' whereas tablets just cover it up and you carry on straining your back. I once took a quarter sachet of bute as I was in a lot of pain the day of an important show - DON'T !!!! It did a great job, but my vet when I happened to mention it said I was lucky to be alive. I don't know if any of this helps, but don't give up. I occasionally used to compete with a lovely lady who years before used to ride for Paul Schockemole and she had a horrific accident and broke her back so badly she was told she would probably never walk again. So she rode horses instead! Luckily she was able to walk and I know she had alsorts of steel braces in her back etc and was frequently in a great deal of pain, but she never gave up and used to train National Hunt horses and compete at shows. Whenenver I was moaning about my back, I just think of her and get on with it! Mary, wherever you are, thanks for the inspiration!
Sharon
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Post by mags on Aug 6, 2005 22:04:20 GMT 1
I found a small amount of yard work, though painful at the time really helped long term.
I injured my back when i stable wall fell on me and found resting didnt improve anything-i still had pins and needles/numbness and found it difficult to lift my arms. Thing finally improved when i gave up resting and started exercise though admittedly it took years before i stopped struggleing
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maislow
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 1,815
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Post by maislow on Aug 6, 2005 22:17:28 GMT 1
I've had a bad back for years which got much worse after having my 2nd child. i was recommended to take Glucosamine 100mg twice a day to start with then after 1 week reduce to 1 a day. Now I started riding again at the same time as I began taking them but my back is so much better. I can walk pain free now & it only hurts if I lift anything too heavy or if I do the muckheap etc so I avoid those things. One of the things that also hurts my back is sitting working on the computer so i have to limit the amount of time I do that for too.
Hope this helps a bit
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Post by honey on Aug 6, 2005 22:53:17 GMT 1
Well I have 12 horses and Have a very bad back due to a couple of riding injuries. Been diagnosed with fibromyalagia which is a wide span muscle soreness. And we have all our horses on rubber matting, which greatly reduces the amount of mucking out time, and shavings needing carting about. We use a wheel barrle but don't over full it, and water buckets aren't full, more trips is better than hurting yourself. We do a lot of breaking and schooling of ponies so I find that wearing a body protector helps to support the back a bit when doing any work. And all our horses are well mannered on the ground, and we get a friend to do all the halter breaking of the foals to safe jarring the back. and I don't take pain killers unless I am really bad at which I do bare min with the horses and no riding. But find that exercising is much better than sitting doing nothing. It may take a little longer to do the work but at least its putting less strain on the back. I would have to agrre with shaz, tht the tb/arabs have the smother gate and easier to ride to. thats what most of our horses are.
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Post by Liz on Aug 7, 2005 13:39:38 GMT 1
I have had low grade back problems for years and always wear a back support when I ride. It is well made and has 2 metal stays, one each side of the spine, which certainly help a lot. I do have to make sure I don't overdo the physical work and that I lift things correctly - you know, bent knees and straght back etc
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Sutton
Advanced Poster
Advanced Poster
Posts: 349
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Post by Sutton on Aug 7, 2005 13:46:49 GMT 1
Having just come out of a bout of sciatica I sympathise with you. but my problems were caused by Pilates videos! I used to do the Body Balance class at the local gym and thought that I had got it all sussed out. However I've been to the physio on my medical insurance from work and she has told me of muscles that I didn't know existed, that weren't working in my back. I too thought that I had got all the muscles sussed through Pilates but what I was doing was using some muscles to extreme and others, that should have been supportive, were not being used. Indeed trying to find them to contract them was very difficult and she's given me lots of exercises to try. So I'm aiming to use the right muscles to strengthen the degeneration in my lower lumbar/sacroilliac joints which I know will get worse over time if I don't do something. So far, touch wood, everything seems to be working. I'm getting aches where I never had them before because I'm using muscles that I never knew existed. So I would try to improve what you've got and then you should be able to cope well with having a horse and all its needs. I rode for the first time for two months today and feel fine now. What my horse thought as I was doing all these pelvic contractions I don't know though. That's the problem really, if we relax as we should do, then we are not keeping our core muscles contracted.
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plusrider
Intermediate Poster
Equestrian Clothing for the Fuller Figured Rider
Posts: 175
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Post by plusrider on Aug 7, 2005 16:21:58 GMT 1
I am a back pain sufferer too, Sciatica and nerve damage leave me very sore after any equestrian duties or riding. I now have Bowen sessions which have helped me enormously, I can't recommend them enough, my partitioner is Deb from here and she is lovely to boot. www.letyourselfbewell.co.ukShe actually came yesterday and my horses had Equine Touch from her too!! ;D
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varkie
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Grand Prix Poster
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Post by varkie on Aug 7, 2005 21:44:10 GMT 1
Yup, another back pain sufferer here. I have an old slipped disc injury. As others have said, being sensible in how you carry things & do chores - keeping things to a minimum. I found I had to cut back on my commitments & what I did with the horses a bit. Plus my chiropractor is an absolute miracle worker!
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Post by lavenderlanebabies on Aug 7, 2005 22:06:38 GMT 1
Hi
I have osteoperosis which was diagnosed in January but have suffered with back pain for many years.
I alway rode in a back protector which helped enormously with my posture, bending knees when lifting or bending and having my horse on shavings helped, worst bit for me was dismounting and the jarring but I used a mounting block to descend which helped a lot.
Carol
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Post by jessfinnsmurf on Aug 7, 2005 23:06:09 GMT 1
I have problems with my back seen a physio told me not to ride and i do there is no point treating anyone else have this problem?
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