Is your horse lacking ‘throughness’; is your lower back immobile, or weak-feeling? You’re not alone...
It’s no coincidence
that sometimes as a rider, if we are experiencing back pain, our horses may
also exhibit gait, back or soundness issues at a similar time. It can become
something of a vicious circle, in that neither horse nor rider is completely
mobile and comfortable, so we both start working defensively, and become
‘tight’ or rigid.
This can
feel as if we’re riding against the
motion of the horse’s gait, rather than with the horse; and the horse will feel
this restriction, too. A common problem for riders is a combination of tight
hip flexors and poor abdominal strength, which often leads riders to develop a forward
pelvis tilt; both in and out of the saddle. This can ‘block’ the horse’s hindquarter
energy, and ‘thoroughness’ through his back. (The United States Dressage Federation has produced a nice booklet
called ‘Loosen
up’ about rider back-care, which is a great read!)
The rider’s seat
The horse rider’s seat, in terms of an aid to riding, as opposed to literally our derrieres, is
made up of the pelvis (including the pelvic floor and seat bones), the
abdominals, and the lumbar area. (‘Lumbar’ refers to our lower backs, where the
spine curves inward, toward the stomach. The lumbar region connects with the
thoracic spine at the top of the back, and extends downwards, to the sacral
spine.)
So, why is
back pain common? For all of us, it’s multi-factorial; and stress is (perhaps
surprisingly) a factor. Also, many horse owners have been riding for many years
(and may have old injuries); most have had office jobs at some stage, or roles
involving sitting at a desk; around ninety per-cent of us are right-handed, and
drive cars with right-side dominance; and the majority of us actively carry out
repetitive tasks (e.g. mucking out or carrying buckets, all with a dominant
hand or side) regularly. Unfortunately, the majority of horse riders will
suffer from back issues at some point in their lives.
Eighty per cent of adults experience
lower back pain
The National
Institute of Neurological Disorders states that about 80 per cent of adults
experience lower back pain at some point in their lifetimes. The Institute
states that men and women are equally affected by it, and that the majority of
acute lower back pain is mechanical, e.g. there’s a disruption in the way the
components of the back mobilise. Interestingly, stress can be a factor in back
pain, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. ‘Stress (and worrying about a bad back!) is
ironically the main cause of back pain; the best thing to do to reduce the pain
is to go back to work, get out and about, and exercise,’ a CSP representative
told the Express
Newspaper, in a no-nonsense fashion.
(The Guardian
newspaper reported that lower back and neck pain is an increasingly expensive
condition, costing America $88bn a year.
There’s seemingly no comparable figures for the UK, however studies indicate
that back pain is a leading, global cause of disability worldwide; meanwhile,
around a third of all long-term UK work absences are caused by musculoskeletal
disorders.)
How can we reduce the likelihood of back pain affecting our horse riding?
So, given
general probability, and also our propensity to carry out repetitive tasks
one-sidedly, there’s a fair chance that horse riders will (at some point) experience
back pain. So, how can we reduce the likelihood of back pain affecting our
riding?
Muscles that are too loose and weak, or too tight, are said to cause the most muscular and skeletal injuries. So, aiming to improve our posture, core strength and back health is key.
In the
United States Dressage Federation’s ‘Loosen
up’ booklet, dressage rider, Pilates instructor and health coach Lisa Carusone
says that when she corrects her own positional problems, her horse always
benefits, and she feels the difference. “[A
common problem for riders is tight hip flexors, and], there can be any number
of reasons for hip tightness. Long hours spent sitting in cars and at desks can
cause hip-flexor muscles to shorten and tighten. [For example], extended
periods of sitting (or standing) or holding a toddler on your hip can
contribute to hip issues and tightness. Everyone’s hip joints are constructed
slightly differently. Your hips can rotate, move forward and back and from
side, but remaining in the same position for long periods of time causes
soft-tissue tightness, and stiffness. As the old saying goes, move it or lose
it!”
Athletic Grace
Equine
Wellness Magazine has some great tips for riders (and specific exercises) in
its 2017 article, ‘Why
rider fitness and posture are so important’. The title advises focusing on
rider stretches, to build strength. ‘Muscles
are technically stronger than bones, and act as the body’s pulley system, manouvering
and affecting the bones.... if you slouch, your muscles will pull the bones
into that position, eventually shortening the muscles, creating the constant
slouching position. It will take time to make shifts in the body’s muscle
memory in order to change it back [e.g. correct poor posture]. The ‘too strong’
and likely ‘too short’ muscles need to stretch and relax so we can maintain
good posture. This will enable us to ride with balance, ease of movement and
athletic grace,’ the article states. (Do check out the exercises
it suggests.)
We hope
these tips and links are useful to you, if you’re experiencing back pain or hip
tightness! Please do remember that when the horse rider is comfortable within
the saddle, they can move more easily with the horse’s gait. Comfortable ridingunderwear and riding breeches are a must, and the Derriere Equestrian range of
riding underwear is designed for both men
and
women; the DE Performance Padded Shorty and the Performance Seamless Shorty,
for example, both excel at their job, offering exceptional comfort and
performance to horse riders, to help us ride with that ‘athletic grace’ we all
desire!
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WWW.DERRIEREEQUESTRIAN.COM
WWW.DERRIEREEQUESTRIAN.COM
