Does anyone on here have a bad back, and do you continue to ride?

[Oldenburg]

I suffer really bad and suffer every day. Last year I was in bed for 3 days not able to move!! I was sent for an MRI scan they found the stuff between my disk has disintegrated from general wear and tear at 26 years of age!! :0( as for my horse I don't let it get in the way just carry on with it and when its get bad I take tablets!! That are 500 mg!! But go to your doctors and ask them to refer you!! Hope it gets better soon!!

 

[MrsMozart]

That's interesting - I am fine when on the move, it's when I sit for a while and when I do certain things like get in and out of the car, or try to put my socks on, that the pain kicks in. Unfortunately my job involves sitting at a desk most of the time (and probably the last thing I should be doing right now is sitting at my pc looking at HHO!)

There has been some great advice from HHO people tonight - its good to know there are other fellow sufferers out there.

The best bit of advice I was given (and which I really wish I'd listened to the last few weeks - deadlines meant head down and no wandering off at all) was become a fidget. Get up and about as much as possible. I have noticed a huge difference and it's a painful and annoying difference, so I'm back to being a fidget!

Good luck hunny. I hope you find the right thing for you.

 

[camilla4]

I have a very old, but severe, neck injury which causes me so much pain that I had to give up full time work. As with so many of the posters on this thread, it is sitting in the same position for periods of time which causes me the greatest trouble - anything over about 20 minutes causes real problems, which makes travelling a challenge! I have spent years trying to find a solution to all of this and have found that riding actually offers the greatest benefit of all. A really hard schooling session, with plenty of cantering and sitting trot, acts as well as any physio session! In addition, I have been carrying out a very rigorous stretching regime for the last year which has made a huge difference and have also been having sports massages recently - these have proved incredibly beneficial although I was initially very sceptical about how useful they would be. The problems have not gone away, and probably never will, but the pain has become much more manageable. It is well worth anyone suffering from this type of problem persevering to find a combination of treatments and therapies that works. There are so many that may be of benefit and it can take a lot of time to find the combination that works for you - but don't give up!!

 

[BigRed]

I suffered with back problems from my mid 20's through to my late 40's. At times I could not ride or walk very far, it was hard to get comfortable in any position really. The important thing to do, is keep active. Sitting on a soft sofa is very bad for your back. Try to keep your weight under control, if you are fat, you will put pressure on your lower back. Take plenty of exercise, swimming is very good. Try to evaluate how you look after your horses. I used to muck out with a short handle fork etc. Now I have a sack barrow to move bales of bedding, I bought a really long handled shavings fork, small things like this make a lot of difference. Find a good physio or chiro person, not a quack. You need a pukka, properly qualified professional, they can make a huge difference, do not rely on painkillers because you will mask the actual problem.

In the end I actually had the problem disc removed and two vertebra fused. It was the best thing I have ever done. I don't have back pain now.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Yes I have a bad back .Also have scoliosis ( kink in spine )

Damaged it in the 70's misdiagnosed till later . All doc gave me at the time was pills.
It went out 1981. Continued to go out right through 1982 till Osteo said you damaged L 3-4-5 which go into spasm and facet lock.. If this had been sorted when you did it , you wont have what you will get later on in life.

Cant move get up - out of bed- dressed get into car.


1981- 2000 continued problems
These problems continued till year 2000 when started having epidurals into my spine.

still had twinges etc 2001 fell of when horse fell re damaged my back.

since then got a slipped disk

Then got sciatica , still have and was told by osteo I will now always get sciatica and if |I hadnt taken the ibuprofen the night before i saw her i would be paralized for life


I then got bucked off in 2007 when i was told I should not have survived the injuries I had just received.

Then diagnosed with cancer,

So the answer to your question despite 33 years of back problem,s is yes I still ride .

 

[Botters]

Chiropractor definitely. It’s the only thing that gets me through.

I broke my pelvis in 3 places and also a vertebrae in my lumbar region many years ago (horses of course) and I am still paying the price! I currently have sciatica which is a real pain in the arse, literally, but I am still riding as I find it helps. Sitting still really doesn’t. It’s just the energy battle that you have to win.

I see my chiro once a month, however at some points I go 3 times a week, which gets expensive! I went down the physio route to begin with, the first physio didn’t help at all, but the second did with the help of medical acupuncture.

I absolutely hated medical acupuncture, but I would definitely recommend it, and I would have it done again, as it significantly reduced my pain. But long term my chiro keeps me on the straight and narrow.

As for riding I think the more activity I do reduces my pain, and a sedentary lifestyle doesn’t help at all (I am office based, computer bound all day long).

I ride 5 times a week, and have 2 horses, schooling helps the most, especially working without stirrups.

Yoga also helps a lot but I find it a struggle to fit it in, with having 2 horses. I must go back to it though at some point soon!

According to my chiro the worst things you can do are activities that twist your back, like mopping (it’s great to get out of that one!) and mucking out.

I am coming to terms with the fact that I will always have back pain, and sometimes I will have to take pain killers to be normal and sometimes it feels like life isn’t fair, but you only live once and you have to just get on with it in the end.

Oh and drugs that help...naproxen, 1mg parecetemol (you can get these in France!), diazepam, and ibuprofen gel that you can rub on directly to the area. Try not to take Codeine as this can lead to even more pain after a few days!

Keep moving, try to find the energy to ride/yoga etc and keep your chin up