Doom and Gloom

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tangoharvey

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Bought my mare in September after a 15 year gap with only the odd ride, used to ride every day as a kid and miised it like hell. So bought a nice 6yo Clydesdale X who is as safe as anything, and so good (and spoilt)
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BUT my back is really really bad, when I have ridden her (twice) my right leg feels really weak, I fell off when standing due to my weak leg. Had MRI scan and have 3 prolapsed discs (not bad ones apparently!) but DR has said I need to be realistic about what I do with the horse
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I am booked in for physio, but with the daily pain I am in at the mo it feels like my dream is slipping away. My neice rides my mare often, and thats great, but I should be doing it too
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no real point to this post, but if anyone knows a miracle worker in the midlands, let me know!
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A decent pain relief regime to begin with.Have you a pain relief clinic in your area?Ask your GP.The only other thing is to try and contact the paralympic people in your area or the RDA as they have people who ride with far greater disabilities than yours.Think Lee Pearson.They may well have some practical advice.
 
Sympathy to you. You could look into finding a good seat saver or a saddle with this built in (I have the Saddle Co endurance saddle) - I have constant lower back pain and find that for anything longer than 20 minutes in the saddle this is the only way I can manage. I saddle I have, although wide, is narrow through the twist which takes the pressure off my hips.

there may be a number of things you can do to make riding more comfortable for you
 
I have constant hip and lower back pain too and limit what I do when it's really bad. It doesn't help that I have a spooky, cat leaping TB mare that jolts my back every time she shies or naps!

I have had a bit of a new lease of life recently by taking Naproxen. The back pain has reduced by quite a bit although I do still suffer with my hips. It is only an anti inflammatory (sp?) but it really has helped me a lot.

I also try and swim 3 times a week and have a full body massage twice a month (I'll be a pauper soon!). On top of all that I have a tens machine but haven't used that in ages but it did help when I was in utter agony last year.

I'm afraid my Dr and the physio I saw (for 6 useless sessions) were not very helpful so I've gone down the self help route and things have improved dramatically for me.
Hope this info is of use!
 
swimimng does wonders for backs, i highly reccommend it. Also how about wearing a back support. main thing is to get the pain managed (easier said than done i no) and why not try yoga/pilates if you can, this will build up your strength. I have a bad back due to afew car accidents and being so tall (6ft) i have tried lots of things, the doc was only good for a prescription and the accupuncter (sp?) was torture and the physio pretty rubbish.
I have also used a tens machine and found it to be helpful, it eases the pain.
Give your body time to get stronger and dont lift anything that will make it worse.
Hope your feeling better soon. Back pain is no fun with horses
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Find a specialist - my dad had an operation YESTERDAY for a slipped disc that went undiagnosed for six months, it was causing him real pain and he could barely walk 100 metres without having to stop and rest. he used the NHS initially and they were rubbish, he was told it was arthiritis initially and nothing they could do but then went to top northern surgeon called Braithwaite(private) who did mri scan and they have performed a Discetomy which removed the part of the disc causing the problem - I imagine it will depend on your individual case but do not be fobbed off by the NHS, there is always more thay can do
 
I don't know where abouts in the midlands you are, but I have a slipped vertebra amongst other aches and arthriticy pains and the one regime that works consistently for me, but you have to be disciplined and go regularly, is Bowen therapy. Its a holistic approach to physio. I go to a practioner who used to be a sports physio, so understands that I need to keep on going regardless! I have been regularly for the last 3 years and can now ride and work around the horses with much less pain than before. He is in shipston. Please PM me if you wish and I'll pass on his contact details.
 
Sounds like you need too look at getting those disks seen to and look at an exercise regime to strengthen the affeted leg as well as lower back. Something like Yoga or Pilates or both!
 
I know of a brilliant physio near Liverpool, if that's anywhere near you PM and I will send you the details.

Pilates is really, really helpful for back problems, I can't recommend it strongly enough.
 
Bronwen Hurley who is a McTimoney Chiro in Warwickshire...pm me for her phone number. She has horses so will fully understand your situation.
Also, have you considered trying a western saddle?
 
bless thanks for all your advice - I was just feeling very sorry for myself - I know that there are many people much worse off (I can still walk (just!) and mange most yard duties with gritted teeth.
thanks all for your advice, i will mooch through the websites and see what I can do xx
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