Back Pain (Riders/Owners)!

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Undecided

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Are there any preventative measures/ management techniques/ exercises that you do in order to avoid back pain or is it something that will eventually creep up and cripple us due to the nature of the sport? I am 18 and go through periods where my back can be absolutely awful where I am sitting in a hot bath popping pills for days on end,or I can have times where it is really good and I get on and do all my jobs/ riding with no problems! I am short (5"2/3 ish) and big chested which doesn't help, and would love to know if there is anything I can do to help my back and keep me riding (low level unaff dressage) for as long as possible!!
 
Get thee to a doctor for a referral. I would also check that your saddle is right for you and have an equestrian friendly physio check your alignment. I suffer with a seized sacroiliac joint which is improved with back exercises, but these need to be shown to you, not talked through over the Internet. 18 is awfully young to be struggling with your back, which is all the more reason to get it seen to. Hopefully it's just a case of you lifting badly or similar!
 
I suffer from lower back pain, been to 2 different oestopath/physios. One said it was deep muscular and the other said it was one of my discs but an xray just shown normal wear and tear. I cant lie on my front, toss and turn all night as I ache but have been told my main problem is my core or lack of proper core muscles. I was told to do sit ups and things like yoga. The 'plank' is supposed to be excellent for it too. When riding its important to sit on your bum, not your 'bits' and use your stomach muscles and not collapse with an arch in your back. I need to do something as I dread to think what I will be like in 10 years time.
 
I'm 17 and started having problems with my back this time last year, constantly needing to click my back and living off ibuprofen. I went to the doctors and was on 6 tabs a day of ibuprofen and paracetamol for a month cause of 'inflamed back muscles', then was sent for physio and the physiotherapist said that my back muscles had collapsed. He gave me a few pilates exercises which made it better for a while but it still flares up a bit. Only thing I could recommend is either go to your doctor to get drugged up like me and then wait 3 months for a physio appointment or just download a pilates app/buy a pilates book and look specifically at the treatments for back pain and how to build up your core cause the exercises I was given by the physio is exactly like what my pilates app recommends. I also bought a back support wrap from amazon for about £8. Hope this helps:)
 
Hi,

As a more mature rider, with many hours clocked up on young horses, I have to tend to my back! I would recommend you get some advice on posture and how to use your muscles to support your frame. A sports physio would be able to help, it would be about £40. Keeping yourself flexible and having exercises to encourage the right muscles to work together will considerably increase your riding longevity. Popping pills at 18 for days on end does not sound promising, it would be £40 well spent in my book. Yoga and Pilates is also good. The exercises transfer to your riding too, such as the breathing of Yoga and the core strength and alignment for Pilates. I even found running and swimming were good to increase resilience, but only once problems have been sorted by a physio.
Good luck!
 
Wow thanks guys! Is there a website or somewhere I can go to get good recommendations for a sports physio in my area (Chelmsford in term time, West Wales in the holidays/ summer)? I try not to take the tablets as I know that is only masking the pain but am currently in one of those moods. I had an x ray about 2 years ago now showing no real issues, general wear and tear. Thanks so much for your replies this is really helpful!
 
Find yourself a reliable osteopath. Mine has kept me riding and upright for the last 25 years and I had an excellent one prior to that.
 
Undecided I can empathise with you as can many!

I have suffered with my back for the past 10 years and I'm 29 now. I also have problems with my sacroiliac joints and then the muscles around all tense up. It's gets so bad sometimes that say I bent down to pick something up I couldn't get back up and would be in tears and couldn't even up my socks on last time it went.
Touch wood since the last flare up in May/June 2013 I haven't been too bad.

When it first started with it I went to see my horses back man as he also does humans and there was instant relief after being manipulated and freeing the muscles that had tensed. But this last time I was recommended a chiropractor who also does acupuncture and after the first visit I could at least stand up straight. I went back twice after and touch wood have been great since! I did have to travel an hour to his clinic but it was well worth it.

I know what you mean about the popping of pills. I was living on co-codamol 30/500 which weren't even taking the edge off it. Then tried diazepam to relax the muscles which didn't do much either so they added in Tramadol and all they made me do was itch! :(

I agree with comments above go to your GP and they can refer you for physio so that you can work on the problem safely. I work in my GP surgery they referred me for physio and then I was eventually seen by a spinal physio.

Before going to someone like private physio/chiro etc check with your GP as sometimes they can do more harm than good as I once found out.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted x
 
I'm 30 and have two children and have been riding since I was 2 years old, I have scoliosis, a displaced hip and a damaged disc at the bottom of my back, I have regular physio and a back brace helps but I hate riding in one. I recently bought a WOW saddle which although I find a bit strange to ride in, it has decreased my back pain massively!
 
Hello,

Not read all posts do someone may have already suggested, but I can't recommend Pilates highly enough for strengthening your back and core to help back pain - it was recommended to me to aid recovery for a broken back and it really helped. Also a good hot stone massage does wonders I find but only lasts while you're there! But definitely worth it :) hope you find a solution that works for you.
 
I wouldn't actually bother going to your GP: mine told me that if I could touch my toes (as demonstrated..in actual fact I can put my palms on the floor) I couldn't be "that bad". I was so crippled with back pain at the time, and only just about managing to move at all with a LOT of Voltarol. He referred me to a physio in their practice, but the waiting list was so long I booked myself in through work (I work in the NHS), and to be honest that made me worse: I only went once, as after the first time I acquired sciatica.
I went to a chiropractor, and she has fixed me.
A lot of it was about how I moved/used my back. I have to very consciously think about how I lift/bend, not using my back at all.
 
OK, I'll be the odd one out. There are lots of things that I can't do because of my back (run, any hi impact exercise, bike, some yoga stuff, sit/stand for long periods) but riding I am just fine. I have had problems with sciatica, which I wouldn't wish on anyone, but found a great physio about five years ago who "fixed" me and then gave me some good exercises to help when it crops up.

As long as I don't try to do anything on my banned list, which is sad because I used to be a real gym junkie, I'm fine.
 
I hurt my back in a bad fall in my first attempt to return to riding about two and a half years ago-- just soft tissue injury but it was darn sore for a long long time. My back can get sore if I am sat too long at a desk hunched over a computer-- that seems to be the worst culprit. I have a foam roller that I use daily ( nearly daily!) along with a set of stretches and exercises to improve core muscle strength. During the work day I try to stand and stretch regularly to prevent the back getting sore. If I keep up with the stretches and foam roller, it seems to work. I try to cycle to keep up fitness and flexibility to be in optimal shape for riding. I also get a massage ( normal relaxing one) every week or two-- and have been a few times to an excellent sports masseuse when needed to sort things out. There are so many problems that can show up as back pain, that it is hard to say what works for one person will work for another. Touch wood, I find that mine is OK if I keep up with the exercise, foam roller and stretches.
 
I have constant low-grade back pain and find it difficult to get comfortable at night in particular and if I sit at my desk at work for any length of time I can't stand up straight. It mainly kicked off when I was doing a friends stud-holes at an ODE and her 17.2hh wouldn't bear his own weight afterwards I was totally crooked and couldn't stand up straight.

My chiropractor really helps and he doesn't do anything violent or crunchy to my back and gave me a list of exercises to do. Also make sure you always sit properly with good support. Use ice packs on your back rather than hot baths - I was told not to have a hot bath as you could find yourself stuck in it. I joined the gym a couple of months ago because I was fed-up with it recurring and 80% of my exercises are to build core strength.

I found a yoga class totally crippled me and although Pilates is great some of the exercises particularly in a group class are horrendous if you already have a back issue. Your instructor must understand your issues so be very careful.

I would also say you need to make sure you lift, bend and carry properly - a chiro / physio etc can advise and not be a hero when lifting stuff. For mucking out I was lucky to be sent an ergonomic fork from my sister. It has a long-handle with a bend I it which really helps me as I can stand up fairly straight when mucking out. Unfortunately it is from the USA and I haven't seen any here. One use of the big heavy metal forks sent me back weeks.
 
This is an interesting thread. I think persistant pain needs to be looked into by a Dr. I have deterioration in a couple of lower back discs & a lot of back pain (but I am pretty old). Does anyone know if sitting trot contributes to back problems ? I am using it more & more at the moment & for the future as my lad will be moving up to Medium in the next 12 months. Any input would be good.
 
Last summer I injured my IT band ( ligament that runs hip to knee to shin)-- an over use injury from cycling. Talk about pain!!! That set off pain in my back, knee, shoulders, everywhere. The IT band is slow to heal-- I have read 6-9 months and that would seem to be about right for what I have experienced. I went to a bio-mechanics trainer to help-- some of my athletic colleagues had been previously to him and recommended-- that helped as well. I avoided my GP like the plague, because a round of muscle relaxants and pain pills was not going to fix the problem, only mask it. My IT band is still not 100 per cent ( I can feel it twinging today so a reminder to do those stretches) and I am mindful it can set off other parts of the body-- like the back.

For me, I think the key is to stretch and stay flexible, build core muscle strength, and try to stay active with non-riding fitness activities as well as riding. But just because your back hurts does not mean its the source of the problem- could be anywhere in the body! A good sports massage person ( those are unpleasant but do their job!) might be able to pinpoint what is going on.
 
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