Dissertation on horse riders ideas please

[Express girl]

Hi I am a 3rd year student and need ideas to do my dissertation in physiotherapy. I thought about something to do with horse riders/injurys. Just wondered if anyone else had any ideas at all please

 

[nagblagger]

I don't know how you would gather data but rotator cuff injuries / shoulder pains in the over 40s working with equines regularly.
There are a lot of us suffering due to being 'yanked' around for years educating horses - a chronic wear and tear problem until it becomes a very painful acute issue.

 

[asmp]

I don't know how you would gather data but rotator cuff injuries / shoulder pains in the over 40s working with equines regularly.
There are a lot of us suffering due to being 'yanked' around for years educating horses - a chronic wear and tear problem until it becomes a very painful acute issue.

Same with backs. I think my bad back stems from a fall (one of many over the years). My back lady says she can tell who is a horse rider from the problems.

 

[LEC]

Enhancing sitting trot through exercises
Working on riders who are crooked - common faults and solutions.
The differences in common riding faults between men and women.
Can you make novice riders more secure in the saddle through applied exercises and balance skills?
Lower back pain and easing it through simple exercises.

 

[ThreeFurs]

Gosh any of the above would be a great contribution to knowledge. I'm an academic in the humanities, [art history]. We tend, annoyingly, to get a bit 'meta' about research. Sose, you could always look at the rise of the human physio as a newish key part of the owner/rider's circle of professionals. Good luck.
ps: i follow this eq pt. she has a great exercise for stopping turned out toes that works. https://www.facebook.com/theequestrianpt/

 

[Express girl]

Thank you for your ideas. That’s great. I might look into some of them. It’s so hard knowing what will go down well with examiners and how much depth to go into. My first post on h and h ! Thank you

 

[spookypony]

There's an increasing number of physios out there that work with both horses and riders (as a pair), or that work together with riding instructors. Perhaps find some of those and have a chat about interesting research ideas?

 

[thatsnotmyname]

Hi I am a 3rd year student and need ideas to do my dissertation in physiotherapy. I thought about something to do with horse riders/injurys. Just wondered if anyone else had any ideas at all please

Can you send me a PM please !

 

[thatsnotmyname]

I can’t message you as you’re a new poster. Could you try messaging me?

 

[Peglo]

There's an increasing number of physios out there that work with both horses and riders (as a pair), or that work together with riding instructors. Perhaps find some of those and have a chat about interesting research ideas?

My physio does both horse and rider physio and she does ridden assessments although I’ve not gotten one personally.
It would be quite interesting to know how much a human weakness affects the horse when riding. I’ve had knee surgery and that leg is weaker than the other and I often wonder if my horse can feel it.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Knees and ligaments for sure

 

[Bonnie Allie]

I know we all go to our Physio to fix things for us but I would like to see physios be more of the trusted advisor role where they are dealing with things such as improved mobility and flexibility in riders - particularly as we age. Or gender specific injuries in riding that require proactive flexibility/mobility to prevent recurrence. Thinking here of groin strain in male riders.

Top of mind for me this evening checking the limits on our health cover for Physio and how much my husband has burnt through with his recurrent groin strain from riding. If he just did the damned exercises as he was instructed to, I wouldn’t have to be checking the limits on our cover!

I’m sure your lecturer has taken you through the process of selecting a topic but remember to narrow the research to a specific area in order to be successful.

 

[spookypony]

Or gender specific injuries in riding that require proactive flexibility/mobility to prevent recurrence.

Oh, this is an interesting question, and I bet a bit under-studied. It's only fairly recently that the idea of astride saddles adjusted for the female pelvis has become anything like mainstream. And biomechanically aware instructors do talk about different tendencies among male or female riders. But to what extent is this discussed or taught in sports physiotherapy, especially given the prevalence of female riders at the top of the sport? I have no idea, but looking into this might lead you towards a topic.

As a uni prof of many years' experience in supervising dissertations, let me give you a few words of counsel that I would give my own students. I hope these help a bit.

1. Pick an area of research that you are actually interested in (seems like that's what you're doing!). "I care about this, and would like to know more about this" is a pretty good place to start! WRT to injuries and riders, maybe you've had an injury yourself that you wish had healed better? Or know someone with a particular injury that you wish you could help? Or are incensed about e.g. gender inequality in medical research?
2. As you read the available literature, it'll (hopefully) become apparent what the interesting questions are. Do lots and lots of reading around your topic, beginning with abstracts and conclusions of articles, until you have a clearer idea of what area you want to concentrate on. (Then, obviously, you'll also want to read the middle bits.)
3. Whatever you pick, inevitably, your topic will shrink a lot by the time you are done. You are not going to solve the world's problems in one undergrad dissertation. Even a "significant original contribution to knowledge" is "not required at this level" (that's PhDs), just like that unintentional piaffe in a Prelim test when you're really wanting to halt...However you frame your question, you'll end up finding out that just examining a specific aspect in a lot of detail will give you plenty of stuff to write about. This is really normal, and nothing to be really worried about.
4. Whatever topic your choose, make sure that the research methods are ones that you've been trained in (or get trained in). Year after year, we see, for example, students posting well-intentioned but poorly designed surveys on here, where it is clear that the social science methodology and/or statistics required aren't really part of their degrees. If there's a requirement for your dissertation that you use any particular methods, then it's a good idea to check the details of your method with your supervisor before you recruit participants. That way, you're likely to get better responses and better data.