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

LeneHorse

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My back is playing up a bit at the moment - low grade sacro-illiac pain. I've not felt like riding but am wondering whether I should just get on with it and ride through the pain, or whether it would be better to give it a bit of time to recover. I don't know what set it off so am not sure whether riding will make it worse. I don't plan to go to the doctors as they will just hand out painkillers and tell me to rest (not an option when you've got a horse).
I just wondered if anyone had any experience of coping with back problems and getting on with horsey life!
I really want to ride as my horse needs to lose weight and we have already lost a lot of time earlier this year due to lameness/shoing issues. :( And we are running out of summer :(
PS I do pilates so am a bit disappointed as I thought it was a good exercise for maintaining back health.
 

Chestnutmare

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I suffer terribly with a bad back my lower lumbar region, from a slipped disc years ago so I suffer everyday.

I carry on with my everyday life as normal as possible, sometimes it takes longer though on my bad days.

I do ride yes with my back but I also do exercises to help, like you and I also wear a prolite back support and that tends to help some, I have to build my core muscles back up as I have been out of horsey life for 2 yrs, just in last month that I have been doing everything again, I do the mucking out - on matting with shavings so that helps, I use a plastic shavings fork again as so lightweight to use, big plastic wheelbarrow that is lightweight too.
I poo pick my paddock couples times a week too, do all water buckets although this can take me a while...

But yes I get on with things as usual.
 

pixiebee

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if the pain has been going on for a while, get it checked out. i had back pain that didnt go away and eventually got sent for an mri, turns out i have a herniated disc. Not much they can do about it without resorting to steroid inj or surgery! Ive opted for daily tramdol. Ive been on tramadol for 2 years, I take it EVERY day! Without it i couldnt ride. People ask how I ride with my back but that is my answer, tramadol!!
 

a_e_d

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I have backache and have been seeing a chiro. Slowly it is getting better.
I still ride, although am wary about what I do - I avoid jumping as that hurts it, but walk, trot and a bit of canter is ok.
My chiro is happy for me to ride (so long as I don't do anything likely to jolt it, and if it hurts I get off) as the motion can help keep the spine mobilized. She said she would never suggest a non-rider take it up to help backache but recommends riders keep riding.
 

mturnbull

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I suffer from back pain and have done for the last 4 years since I recieved an injury by a horse kicking me in the lower back area (wrong time, wrong place!). I am also only 19 and this injury has been very difficult sometimes for me to cope with as at this age back pain is the last thing i thought i would have to cope with!

As for coping with it with horses i have never let it stop me doing anything (as im a bit studdborn like that!). After several different physios and doctor opinions (too many to mention and no deffiniate answer) I am currently with a physio who i feel is really working and helping and he has said horse riding is excellent for learning to cope with back pain as it strengthens your core muscles. I should also mention that no doctor/physio has ever stopped me riding altogether. Although he did say not to push it so at the moment me and my back are on a 'fitness plan' where we were , in his words, training for the marathon of life i.e. trying to help my back now so i can hopefully have a pain free future.

For every day horsey life I am at the stables twice a day, mucking out at least once possibly more a day and riding about 4 times a week a long with just starting a gym programme 4 times a week. My biggest helping hand i can give is doing little BEFORE the pain starts then having a rest and starting again is the best way for me anyway to cope with it. At first this was frustrating as i found i couldnt ride consistantly for more than about 6 minutes before 2 minute rest periods but after only a short period my 'back strength' has increased and i can now ride for longer periods without ANY back pain.

I hope this helps, im sometimes not the best at explaining things! feel free to ask any Qs and i really hope you find a way of coping with your back pain.
 

Trish C

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Similar to a_e_d - I've actually found that riding has improved my back pain. I basically made sh!*e of my lower back in a fall last year (after previous other injuries) and when I eventually decided I was in sufficient pain to get it checked out doctor said it was a miracle I wasn't in more pain and was still functioning relatively normally... apparently I had shoved several vertebrae quite far out from where they were supposed to be, oops :eek:. Got it all 'fixed' but still experienced quite significant discomfort until I got back into riding, which really seemed to improve my mobility and started to build strength back up again :) Pilates fecks it up - seems to leave me in pain atm - so have abandoned that!

I can school for up to an hour and have hacked for up to 5 hours back pain free, yay! Finding the right stirrup length was important ;)
 

skint1

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I know many riders/horsepeople that have bad backs, including my nearly 20 yo daughter. She's suffered on and off since she fell off her pony and rolled into a parked car at a horse show when she was 14. She had some treatment at the time, and then a couple of years later when she was working student on a comp livery yard and most recently last month, she didn't even fall just tweaked it which put her whole pelvis out of line doing some xc schooling.

She sometimes wears a Pro-lite Back Support when it's playing her up but she doesn't let it stop her, she even competed in a small ODE after the latest episode, though if you look at vids of her dressage she looks really stiff and they had a couple of refusals because she couldn't ride as a effectively and it did translate to the horse.
 

ironhorse

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Pilates can help, but you need to take it steady - I tend not to ride on a pilates day and vice versa.

I always ride, no matter how bad my back feels and it does help - have to be careful not to overdo it tho. For example, today I was a bit sore after a show at the weekend so just schooled my mare for about 30 min and then went for a very quiet walk around the fields.
I mainly ride western these days and have to be careful that saddles aren't too wide.

If you take care of yourself, and your doctor says it is OK, there's no reason that back pain should stop you riding. I've had mine for nearly 30 years, and only gave up for 18mths, during which time I was the most miserable person on the planet (my family will confirm this!)
 

juliette

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My physio is great and accepts that she has to work with me as a rider, and not recommend i stop!

In my experience it's a lot of the yard duties that are worst, such as pushing heavy wheelbarrows through mud, pushing large haylage bales and carrying large feed sacks. These put more strain on my back than riding in my opinion!
 

Tnavas

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I have backache and have been seeing a chiro. Slowly it is getting better.
I still ride, although am wary about what I do - I avoid jumping as that hurts it, but walk, trot and a bit of canter is ok.
My chiro is happy for me to ride (so long as I don't do anything likely to jolt it, and if it hurts I get off) as the motion can help keep the spine mobilized. She said she would never suggest a non-rider take it up to help backache but recommends riders keep riding.

This ^^^ I believe I would have been in a wheel chair by now if it hadn't been for my chiropractor.

Go to your doctor and insist on a referal to a chiropractor. Sometimes you have to be tough with the docs to get what you need. I spent 20 odd years living on Paracetamol because a doc told me too. Riding School owner took me to a chiro and wow what a difference he made.
 

Cuppatea

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i dont know any horsey person who doesnt suffer from bad back!!
For SI pains, riding really does help. However, chiro is a must! SI problems can be sorted. Dont bother going through gp, just book one privatly, may take a good few sessions depending on severity of injury but well worth it.
In meantime, prolite back support as many have suggested takes the edge off a bit.
 

DougalJ

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I've been moaning and groaning for the last few days about mine - dull ache on lower left hand side. I'm putting up with it as I've got a dressage test to do tomorrow so its not stopping me!
 

Chellebean

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I perforated two discs in my lower spin 4 years ago and rode for the first 2 years of the pain! Then had it operated on and have slowly reintroduced riding, although my confidence has been slightly damaged by it all :(
 

Sussexbythesea

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I suffer from back pain that flares up from time to time and wouldn't survive without my chiropractor. First I would find out if it is something that will improve giving you a back free of pain - so I would see a chiropractor or osteopath. They should be able treat you and advise if it is something you can get rid of with treatment and exercises and stop it turning into a permanent problem. I find that if I don't ride for a short period of time, ice my back and have regular chiro I can ride pain free the rest of the time whereas if I had just carried on I probably would have slipped disc by now and have long term disabling pain.
 

LeneHorse

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Thanks for all your replies - I'm feeling a lot more positive now having heard your experiences. :)
I have the option of being referred to a physio through my work (one of the benefits of working for a large organisation) so am going to look into this.
 

BillyBob-Sleigh

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I suffered from Spondylothesis and a cracked vertebrae (the cracked vertebrae was from falling off my horse and they then discovered my spondylothesis) so I had a spinal fusion in the lower vertebrae (have pins and rods to hold together!). I loaned my boy out whilst I was recovering and then started hacking out about 6-8 weeks after and gradually built up to HT etc. Unfortunately my circumstances changed and I had to sell my horse and had a horse free few years until June this year when I bought my 4yr to start eventing, and it has worked wonders!! I think the movement of riding really loosens up my stiff muscles and I have been pain free (touch wood) for a couple of months, I find cantering the most soothing :)
 

SecretSquirrell379

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I've had back problems for many years, degeneration of my L3/4, L4/5 & L5/S1 and it used to give me loads of problems. Again I am lucky that I have a brillant physio and he knows that not riding is not an option :D I find that Pilates really helps, I had to go to several classes before I found this one that really works for me, its clinical pilates and run by the physio, building up my core really has helped and often a ride eases off my back when its stiff. If not I just keep popping the ibuprofen :rolleyes:

Think that you should get it checked out though so you know what the problem is and take it from there xx
 

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I injured my back coming off a horse when I was 11. No treatment at the time, despite terrible pain, in my late teens my back would suddenly give out, leaving me again unrelenting pain. Diagnosis in my mid 20's was that all the muscles around four of my lumber vertebrae had been demolished, they had knitted back together strongly, but with little flexibility.

My worse times for back pain have been in sedentary jobs - being a driving instructor was the very worst, it's surprising how doing nothing can give you so much grief! Now I'm a feed merchant - in winter, I lift between three and five tonnes a week, thats sacks of 15, 20 and 25Kgs, and those small but very heavy wrapped haylage bales, shavings, sacks of coal etc etc, very often having to carry them into stables, up steps etc. Despite only carrying on my right shoulder, my back now gives me remarkably little trouble, I do go to a Bowen/Chiro every 4 - 8 weeks to keep me working well. The plus side of this is that yard duties feel very easy now, pushing a full wheelbarrow uphill is no big deal.

I would say that a good 'body person' is a must - I know people who think I'm crazy for going as often as I do, but my back is the best it's been since I was 11 - and that's 31 years ago, so £30 a month is a very small price to pay. I've used physio, chiros, osteo, McTimony and Bowen over the years. McTimony worked very well, and I would recommend it, chiro was good too. The lady I go to know is mad for learning about bodies, how they work and how to fix them, she's a German chiro, also qualified in Bowen. What I really like about her is that she doesn't fanny about, if she needs to make me uncomfortable or even briefly in pain in order to fix the problem, I'm cool with that, I've been to people who've done little more than stroke my skin, that's no use, get deep into those muscles! Ask around for recommends, hopefully the same name will keep cropping up (in a good way!)
 

Lotty

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I have lower back problems too. I had a fall last September and really jarred my back, stupid me didn't go to the doctors until 3 months later - her reply was 'I should have gone straight away'. Anyway, she got me to see a physio and that seemed to make me worse
sigh.gif
I got to the point when on a morning I couldn't move out of bed and I couldn't put my socks on, went to the doctors again and she gave me some tablets. I'm still taking the tablets which does take alot of the pain away and if I'm going for a hack I tend to put on my HM seat saver which I think helps.
 

MrsMozart

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Broke my back at L2 (compression fracture - don't try and land on your feet when coming off at the apex of a jump :rolleyes:). Happened just over twelve months ago. Six months of no riding at all :(

Now certain things make it whinge a lot - sitting at a desk all day, getting cold, over-doing the mucking out/sweeping.

The things that help are - warmth, moving around and not letting it all stiffen up, a mix of Equipilates and physio, and stretches every day.

I've also added two quilts (one down, one manmade) to the top of the mattress, which also helps. When we've finished the house re-modelling, we'll have a new bed that takes care of achey bits and moves so's my back will be better supported :)

I'm very lucky in that the only painkillers i need are Ibuprofen, and Ibuleve. At times the painkillers don't do anything, but lying on my side and having a hot water bottle on my back really help :D

I hope you find the solution for you.
 

Grey_Eventer

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After having a bad fall aged 11- rotational after pony put a foot in a hole i have always had a bad back. I go to the osteopath when it gets bad- but just continue riding wise as per usual. Sometimes it does hurt, like a good days hunting on my horse (strong) can be painful but i just try and ignore it as at 17 a bad back is not what i thought id have! :p

I find that deep heat works wanders or voltarol pain eze, or if i've run out a hot water bottle does the trick. I try not to sit on the floor on my bum for too long as I get sore coccyx and I am supposed to stretch more than I do to try and keep my back aligned. What really works is when my osteopath puts on these strappy things which act as outside muscles (Sort of), sadly they don't last forever!
 
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LeneHorse

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Now certain things make it whinge a lot - sitting at a desk all day, getting cold, over-doing the mucking out/sweeping.

The things that help are - warmth, moving around and not letting it all stiffen up, a mix of Equipilates and physio, and stretches every day.

I hope you find the solution for you.

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.
 

diggerbez

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i've had a bad back for years (mainly caused by falling off horses and getting run over by cars :rolleyes:) and physio helped it but never got to the root of the problem- they would treat the symptoms of pain and they'd go away but then it would flare back up. only thing that has helped long term, is my chiropractor. the scans and xrays they did basically showed 2x rotated vertebrae (arthritis basically as they have calcified), a curvature, and a bulging disc. marvellous. i still ride, fall off frequently and keep going to the chiro. if i'm having a bad back day i'll lunge rather than ride and am trying to build up my core muscles to help support my back through things like pilates, stability ball and swimming :)
 

muff747

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When I used to ride I suffered from lower back pain regularly. It was usually set off by walking thro the field and not noticing a hole:eek: in fact anything that jolted my hips would set it off. I think it was my sacroiliac (sp) joint
I had an amazing oseopath who always fixed my back mostly with one or sometimes two sessions. I would live with the niggling pain for weeks and weeks hoping it would get better but it wouldn't go away until I saw my osteo.
My advice would be get a good chiro or osteopath.
 

PollyP99

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I suffered a slipped disk after moving a guinea pig run (yes really) and have suffered on and off with back pain ever since. What I find really helps is having rock solid stomach muscles, I was told (as others have said on this thread) that building your core is the most important thing in fighting back issues, Im not big on sit-ups so invested in a slendertone belt, it has been fantastic and my core is now solid, I use it everyday and is equivalent to 100 situps, all done whilst watching TV, marvellous!

I can now ride at a gallop and whilst I stil get a twinge if I move oddly (reaching usually) or sit for hours I am much improved so would recommend it!
 

Doris68

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I fractured L1 & L2 at the same time as I fractured the head of my femur. Pfff, horses eh?!
Anyway, that was some time ago and I was back riding after 8 months. I no longer ride as I've retired my old mare. My biggest problem is sitting for long periods of time - I get really stiff and then get cramp when I'm in bed. I also find standing around painful but walking about is OK. Generally, I'm fine despite having one leg shorter than the other (common after a head of femur fracture). Keeping your spine "mobile" is the best thing I think! Good luck.
 

superted1989

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At 18, I slipped on ice, carrying a sack of pony nuts, and could barely put my left foot on the floor for ages. I was working on a very large yard at the time and being 'sick' was very much frowned upon. I survived on quantities of paracetamol and cheap, white cider! Once I'd got my qualifications, changed to a different yard, got paid proper money and saw an osteopath every fortnight for a while which helped. I was in a lot of pain whilst pregnant with my eldest, but, oddly, riding eased the pain!
Fast forward some years, more children and a deskbound job..........along with a very much increased waistline and carrying about 6 extra stones! Back pain became a distant memory.
Then, for various reasons, we moved back 'home', I got back into the horsey scene, got loads more active, dropped a large quantity of weight and returned to searing back pain. As I'm now a proper grown up, I finally tried to sort it instead of just scoffing painkillers. Turns out, I have a mild form of spina bifida (obviously born with it!), must have tweaked something when I fell, then 'used myself' incorrectly causing a long term problem. I also have arthritis in my spine, hip, wrists and thumbs which may be connected.
That's my long winded way of saying, get it checked out early so that you don't fall into the trap of compensating for one pain but causing another. One doctor told me not to ride but, after a year of not riding, nothing improved, so, another said ride, but only do what's comfortable. I find a lot of cantering is agony, but can do sitting trot without stirrups for ages! Also, working on core stability has helped a lot
 

MerrySherryRider

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Riding helps keep my back pain free. Lots of walking keeps it fluid. If I've had periods of not riding due to other health problems, my back seizes and goes into spasm. Back in the saddle, my back loosens up and pain/stiffness goes. Friend finds trotting is best for her, too much riding in walk makes hers ache.
 

Mince Pie

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Same as a_e_d, I have had back problems for the last 10 years. My osteopath recommends me to carry on riding gently as it helps keep my back mobile, although now it has gone into spasm so have stopped riding and left my 2 out so I don't have to do any yard chores.
 

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My back is playing up a bit at the moment - low grade sacro-illiac pain. I've not felt like riding but am wondering whether I should just get on with it and ride through the pain, or whether it would be better to give it a bit of time to recover. I don't know what set it off so am not sure whether riding will make it worse. I don't plan to go to the doctors as they will just hand out painkillers and tell me to rest (not an option when you've got a horse).
I just wondered if anyone had any experience of coping with back problems and getting on with horsey life!
I really want to ride as my horse needs to lose weight and we have already lost a lot of time earlier this year due to lameness/shoing issues. :( And we are running out of summer :(
PS I do pilates so am a bit disappointed as I thought it was a good exercise for maintaining back health.


Hi Lene Horse

Apologies for long reply but wanted to cover as much as I could. I have a large prolapsed disc at L5/S1 (last veterbrae and sacroilliac vetebrae) and have been on all sorts of pain relief, but nothing seems to work long term. I've tried co-drydamol, co-codamol (its slightly stronger cousin), tramadol, amitrypyline and diazepam (muscle relaxants), copious amounts of paracetamol (the disc just laughed at that), anti inflammatories such as ibuprofen (ha ha) and naproxen and I'm currently on Gabapentin (nerve relaxant) which was working really well but now fails to get me through the night due to the pain waking me up (hence why I'm on H&H forum at 3.20am!)

I seem to be immune to pain killers after a while. They work to start with but after a few days/weeks/months they fail to work. Whether this is because my body has had so many so it has become accustomed to them and so therefore they are no longer effective, or whether its because I do more because I am out of pain in the day and therefore pay for it double at night who knows.

I think you should go to your doctors as your first port of call. They may refer you to your local hospital for an MRI scan depending on whether they think its muscular or skeletal. The MRI scan will be able to tell you more. I got the go ahead for the MRI after taking an Xray to my doctor following Xrays of my spine from my chiropractor which showed that there was an impingement between L5/S1.

I did pilates for about 2 months before noticing the difference but only went once a week and didn't do any pilates at home in between sessions. But I did find it was very effective. However I stopped because it was a rush to get there in the evening after working all day and then mucking out in the evening and I was so tired I just gave up the will after about 12 months. The consultant, my doctor and the physio I saw once, all said the same thing. Its so beneficial to do pilates that I MUST go back, but I'm in so much trouble pain wise at the moment that I daren't risk making it worse.

My back is worse at night because it seizes when I lie down for any length of time, even 20 mins on the sofa is enough to do it. When my friends see me at the yard in the afternoon/evening I am practically skipping around as I've had most of the day to relax and get my back right by moving about and walking. First thing in the morning before my latest pain killer I couldn't put my socks on or roll over in bed without crying out some times. If I do a false step I cry out in pain, if I sneeze even now on a bad day it really hurts my back.

My damn disc had settled down until about a six weeks ago when I lifted about 20 crates of hens,each containing about 15 hens (two on each crate) and helped catch about 150 of them when their new mummies and daddies came to collect them (I volunteer for the British Hen Welfare Trust). Although I'd done many volunteering days before and since being diagnosed with my disc problem I'd had a gap of approx 9 months and I reckon all the bending down and running after hens and trying to catch them (lot of bending down quickly and not in correct 'bend knees' position) really made it bad. I've been in terrible trouble with it since.

I still ride but at the moment my horse is coming back from an injury so I'm only walking. My horse is only in a 6ft 6 rug although he's 17.1hh and is therefore fairly short coupled for his size and his canter is VERY bouncy. This and the fact that I do an awful lot of jumping doesn't help my back. i have invested in sprenger type stirrup irons to take the impact from my back and also a gel seat pad on top of my saddle but it makes little difference. I do feel that although riding can make it worse at times, it can also loosen it off too. I think jumping is the worse for a bad back. Especially if your horse is one that really bascules over a fence which my horse will do nicely every now and then. Sometimes he will change behind only on a corner due to his spavin and that shunts my saddle into my back and then it can make me cry out in pain.

Go and get properly diagnosed and then take it from there. I am due to see the specialist for the third time tommorow at hospital and I need to make the decision to have the operation I really don't want in which 1 in 300 end up paralysed and 40% can end up the same or worse or whether to insist of having the steroid epidural injection which I was told last time wouldn't make any difference to my back. Nasty decision to have to make. I need to do something as I can't go on much longer like this ( I don't mean I'm going to jump off a cliff or anything, but at the moment I am feeling pretty desperate and hurting like mad).

The painkillers/anti inflammatories etc make me feel sick. Right now I feel like I could throw up having taken a combination of tablets at 10pm last night. They make me feel light headed, I can't concentrate at times, they make me constipated, I get sweats, I get stomach ache, I get dizzy. Don't think having a slipped disc is at all easy to live with.

However after all that whinging and complaining I do realise how lucky I am that I am able to ride/drive/work/walk, etc. I know there are always people worse of than yourself, and so I shouldn't be so silly really.....
 
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