Anyone else ride with a nagging injury? Advice please

Tobiano

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 August 2010
Messages
4,233
Location
Norfolk
Visit site
I am old and fat. I have had a nagging knee injury since 2009 when I ruptured my ACL. It has never been quite right but in January this year i had a cartilage operation to sort out a torn meniscal cartilage. Has been sort of ok since, until I did a bike test for a company medical 2 weeks ago and its been painful again after that. I rode for 10 minutes in the school today - didn't make the pain any worse but my left leg felt incredibly weak, not sure my poor horse realised when i tried to put my leg on on that side!

Would just like to know if any of you rides with a nagging injury and what your experiences are if so? I don't really mind pain, can shove a few ibuprofen down my throat, but don't want to harm any chances I might have (yeah, right!) of becoming sound again and riding problem free.

don't worry i understand you guys don't all have medical qualifications etc etc and any of you that do I won't know anyway so promise not to sue you for any advice given!

Thanks :)
 

iconique

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 January 2008
Messages
1,188
Location
Essex
Visit site
I'm relatively old and fat too, but had a lesson with a very decent trainer (by accident as my rider was ill and I didn't want to cancel for the horse - every time we do something, something goes wrong and for once he wasn't the cause!) so I dusted off the gear and went for it (sweaty beet root came to mind, who felt like an incompetent fool) but stupidly I enjoyed it and have booked mother two lessons! So yes, long term neck injury and no excuses left. (Plus Tore my tricep in march, plus still feeling the 4 broken ribs from 2 years ago - all not falling off!).
Today has been the ice packs and pain killers, but I have decided that I'm fed up of working to pay for it and it's time that I try again myself and as long as I loose weight and start getting fitter it should get easier, although a little bit of consideration to the risk so I can keep paying the bills has to come into the pic! If that can't happen its game over anyway!
What surprised me is that the trainer told me off for not doing the competing myself and to get on with it! I'm not going to be doing anything special, but it's made me change my perspective - might repost soon with another opinion, but for the first time in ages it seems with at least trying!
Sorry but if you aren't going to make it significantly worse then join the club? ;)

Plus now realise how stiff, fat, unfit that I really am, but how much could be solved by being a little fitter and less fatter! Lol!
 

suffolkmare

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 August 2012
Messages
806
Location
...Suffolk
Visit site
Much empathy from me (another old-and-a-bit-too-fatty). I "badly sprained" my ankle a few weeks ago. Well it was technically an avulsion fracture. I was at work (school residential trip, I'm a LSA) and hobbled around on it not thinking it was all that bad. Eventually got xrays done and by then was walking more or less ok so refused a gel boot. Advised not to ride for around 6 weeks, but felt ok to try after 1 week :O...sore to use on the clutch driving home, so no riding for another week or so, then just short & gentle! Gradually getting better so after 5 weeks was up for a decent hack. Enjoying a good canter till a pigeon flew up...ooops no ponio under me! landed on my coccyx which didn't hurt till I got back in the saddle. OUCH! Coped with this for a week and then tried riding again...just a short ride! a few days later my friend took me on a new route... we were out for 2 hours and now I have a slightly sore tail bone and a definitely niggly ankle (suspect the sandals I wore today haven't helped) Unfortunately I really want to do a little RC jumping competition next week... I hope I'm not being really stupid but the rest of me is ok-ish! I blame my non-horsey parents for not letting me get horses "out of my system" when I was a child, lol!
 

Ddraig_wen

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 December 2014
Messages
394
Visit site
I ruined my acl a few years ago and only this year has that leg felt weaker than the other and I had to make a conscious decision to use that leg to do things. It does still have random wobbles but on the ground more than ridden. If I ride more than 4 in a day or run a few at a show it can be a bit achy but nothing major. I was given the choice of op and no riding or no op or no op and I opted for the second option
 

Goldenstar

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 March 2011
Messages
46,023
Visit site
I have more nagging injuries than I care to list .
I have learned to look after myself I have have a massage once a fortnight and see the Physio regularity .I do exercises daily .
I spent all yesterday working on a sideboard I am restoring lots of bending and stopping and sitting of the floor I spent ten hours on it yesterday alone this morning I could hardly move when I got out of bed I was so stiff .
 

Ben2684

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2014
Messages
487
Location
Dorset
Visit site
I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis around six years ago, basically my lower vertebrae inflame and then bone forms so I could end up with a fused spine. I am fortunate that the more I move the easier it gets (some with the condition find it is far more aggressive) but sometimes the first ten minutes is extremely uncomfortable, at worst excruciating. It is far far worse if I haven't ridden for a few days. On a bad day I find it very difficult to fold and come out of the saddle for fast work, so these are the days when I take it slower and really work on my position/aids etc when out and about. I can seize up really quickly if for example I've been for a long ride and just gotten off, it is quite hard for people to understand that I can ride for hours, but the minute I stop I limp slightly and struggle to intact etc, though I push through it. My chiropractor has been amazing and basically said just work through it. I spend 20 minutes a day doing physio at home and she even gave me some exercises directly related to riding (after extensive research-it helps she is a horse owner) that I can do for 5 minutes whilst mounted either before we set off or have just returned. It's depressing as I'm only 30 and some days struggle to put my socks on but I find sometimes it is more mind over matter and not letting it beat you!!!
Each ailment is different however so that wouldn't work for all-I just think that rising not only helps me physically but I work in a high pressures job so for the whole time I am out is like a bit of a release for me and this far outweighs the initial pain/discomfort and I would never be without it... I am terrified that one day they will say I hve to give it up!
 

OwnedbyJoe

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 August 2013
Messages
275
Location
Western Australia
endurancedownunder.wordpress.com
I have a weak ankle from an avulsion fracture like suffolkmare, plus an old sacro iliac separation on the other side. Neither of these are from riding horses! Both are chronic injuries that I have to maintain.
Basic fitness all round helps, as does weight control. I can't afford to have a SINGLE day when I don't move at all - I am much worse off if I do. So I at least walk the dogs every day. I work hard on core strength to help compensate for the weakness in the sacro iliac area, and I use a standing desk + wobble board at work to help the ankle. All the exercises you like at home won't counteract 7 1/2 hours a day of bad posture etc at work so get that analysed by someone who knows about ergonomics and set up to help you.
The Feldenkrais method really helped keep me straight, and I am at the chiropactor every month.
 

ILuvCowparsely

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 April 2010
Messages
14,394
Visit site
I am old and fat. I have had a nagging knee injury since 2009 when I ruptured my ACL. It has never been quite right but in January this year i had a cartilage operation to sort out a torn meniscal cartilage. Has been sort of ok since, until I did a bike test for a company medical 2 weeks ago and its been painful again after that. I rode for 10 minutes in the school today - didn't make the pain any worse but my left leg felt incredibly weak, not sure my poor horse realised when i tried to put my leg on on that side!

Would just like to know if any of you rides with a nagging injury and what your experiences are if so? I don't really mind pain, can shove a few ibuprofen down my throat, but don't want to harm any chances I might have (yeah, right!) of becoming sound again and riding problem free.

don't worry i understand you guys don't all have medical qualifications etc etc and any of you that do I won't know anyway so promise not to sue you for any advice given!

Thanks :)
I always pictured you as about 5ft 6 red hair and medium built. :)

I cannot ride yet as no rideable horse but would have also a nagging knee injurymainly at first the bone issue then when i fell and got chronic prepatella bursitis, had many a hospital appointment push from pillar to post
but going to hospital in july for xray.
 
Last edited:
Top