Recovering from back injury - advice needed

boxcarhorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2010
Messages
420
Visit site
Hi

In July I came off my horse and fractured my sacrum (lower back) in two places. Now, over 5 months on I'm still struggling to ride and am regularly in quite a lot of pain when I do. I've tried one-to-one pilates, but that ended up with my entire back going into spasm and I couldn't even work for two days - I think he pushed me to far to fast. I'm seeing a physio and chiropractor and while I'm OK just walking about and doing 'normal' things I'm really struggling to ride. I guess it doesn't help that my interest is dressage and I've got a wide and big moving horse.

Has anyone been through anything similar and if so, if you've any top tips on how to get back to a point where I can ride for 45 mins and be relatively pain free I'd really appreciate it as its really starting to get me down and means I some days I can't ride properly at all.

Thanks in advance
 

DonkeyClub

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 July 2013
Messages
238
Visit site
I would reccomend the best osteopath you can find rather than a chiropractor

Would work on your core strength and hip adductor muscles, find the tiniest simplest exercises you can do and build up from there, I think it would be a very slow and gradual process but just set yourself a pyramid core stability exercises to gradually work through.

Also regular swimming and regular massages will help

I think it will just be a long slow process to get your body working& functioning properly again, give it time but keep on working at it, you will get there!
 

boxcarhorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2010
Messages
420
Visit site
Thanks DonkeyClub that's really helpful. I do have basic exercises to do on a gym ball - which I'd kind of thought weren't really doing anything, but I'll persevere!
 

Cheshire Chestnut

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 October 2013
Messages
2,018
Location
Cheshire
Visit site
I had a a really bad pain in my back after I slipped a disk 10 years ago that actually still gives me jip now, however I find swimming really helps. I don't just mean a gentle swim, it needs to be a meaningful one on both your front and back to help build the muscles up again round your spine - obviously don't push yourself too hard and until it hurts. It will feel uncomfortable for a bit but then you'll soon feel better. Also heat treatment helps too, get a hot water bottle on it twice a day. Sorry to say but recovering from that type of injury requires a lot of hard work and it will be slow, however you'll get there in the end and it will be worth it.

Good luck :)
 

chestnut cob

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 November 2004
Messages
14,996
Location
Shropshire
community.webshots.com
Not a fracture like yours but I managed to injure my back in Dec. Had a few days where I couldn't do anything at all but it is getting better. I went to my GP (mainly to make sure I didn't have a slipped disc or anything sinister). His advice was to see an osteopath or physio, or both, to manipulate the muscles. Then gentle stretching and getting back into yoga (which I have always done up until a couple of months ago) slowly. I am riding again now but any longer than about 30 mins is really painful. Seeing osteo tomorrow so hopefully that will help to ease things. GP told me that I needed to do normal stuff as much as possible, as if I didn't exercise it and stretch out the muscles, they would seize up and get worse.

So what about some yoga? Your local Council gym will run a class for all levels, and you can tell the instructor you need to take it slowly. Also try a site like Yoga Journal which has some good free videos, starting with really basic stretches. It might help.
 

JKPequestrian

Member
Joined
17 December 2013
Messages
11
Location
Newport
Visit site
I had a serious fall on a pointer approx 5 years ago. Smashed right leg from toes to up through ankle on both sides. After being in plaster and air casts for 6 months I started gently riding again. No feelings from waist down que X-ray emergent MRI scan.

Discovered I had broken l4/l5 and damaged 4 discs either side. I have had it operated on and steroid injections done. I still regularly attend a physio and do Pilates.

Make sure you see a spinal specialist!

Riding for me is my life- and my business. Physio, Pilates, a good surgeon, spinal manipulation and painkillers keep me sound!

Heat is wonderful. A heated car seat is amazing and a jacuzzi does wonders too!

Invest in a brace- I bought a magnetic wrap around that on a truly bad day is slight enough to put under my jacket but still affective.

Pm if you would like any advice- I truly understand your frustration!
 

boxcarhorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2010
Messages
420
Visit site
Thanks JKPequestrian, it's nice to know I'm not alone and others have been through similar and got out the other side!!

Wheels I'm in Gloucestershire.
 

boxcarhorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 September 2010
Messages
420
Visit site
Thanks JKPequestrian, it's nice to know I'm not alone and others have been through similar and got out the other side!!

Wheels I'm in Gloucestershire.
 

Eventer96

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 June 2009
Messages
2,017
Location
Chester
twitter.com
I'm in a similar position to you. I fractured my neck in two places as well as two in my back after a hunting fall that happened 3 years ago when I was 14. It causes me great agony for months afterwards. My grandma invested in a wonderful chiropractor and I underwent physio at school to help with my treatment. Like you, I'm a dressage rider, I've got a big 17.2hh Warmblood who is very big moving. What I struggle with most is sitting trot- ouch! I get shooting pains in my shoulder blades quite regularly and I know when I've done too much.

I've found that swimming has helped me massively, it's helped with rebuilding the strength in my back and core without straining any joints. I also do strengthening exercises in the gym under great scrutiny. I'm very fortunate to be at a school where I have access to a great support team- they look after the sport scholars very well ;)

You're still quite early onto into your recovery, although it seems like forever it does get better. After an injury such as yours time does help alongside the professional help that is available. I can also vouch for having regular massages too, not only do they help with my back but they also take my mind off what happened. It's quite depressing at the age of 17 that I have such pain in my back... The thought of getting older scares me simply because I know the pain will get worse. My back support is the love of my life, I'm going to marry my chiro and physio and the boyfriend comes in handy for relieving the pain from my shoulders, great excuse to have a massage.

I wish you all the best with your recovery, I appreciate how difficult it is, physically and mentally. I'm currently planning my medium debut and the thought of doing sitting trot is the only thing putting me off at the moment!
 

Rum Tum

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 June 2011
Messages
101
Location
South East
Visit site
I would recommend a cranial sacral therapist if you can find a good one locally. A very gentle but incredibly effective treatment which I think would be very suitable at the stage you're at.
 

Perfect-Piaffe

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 June 2008
Messages
376
Visit site
In oct 2012 I came off and fractured T11/T12 and L4 as well as putting my femur through my hip and breaking the lot. its also left me with osteoarthritis in most of my lumbar spine. i started riding again last summer and it was still hurting, in November I started having sports massages and its really helped, feels like its loosened a lot! My friend has one of those impact shock absorbing seat savers which I borrowed and it does help, so I treated myself to one at olympia :) although I've gone for the newer version which is twice as thick so hopefully will be even better. We got it from horse health (they have a website too!) unfortunately I haven't been able to try it out yet as recovering from shoulder surgery since nov but I'm sure it's going to help! Hope you find a solution to help soon :)
 

YasandCrystal

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 April 2009
Messages
5,588
Location
Essex
Visit site
May I add a suggestion of taking a turmeric supplement - I started the horses on it a few weeks ago for their arthritis etc and I have just bought the tablet form to try myself as I suffer with shoulder pains. There is a turmeric user group on fb and it is very informative - it is such a powerful herb for detoxifying and easing pain.
 
Top