Equestrian Back Pain Information
The feeling of gently guiding a horse and flying over the landscape while in the saddle is one of exhilaration. At least, that is what it is supposed to be. For horseback riders who experience equestrian back pain, a ride can be excruciating. Once the cause and symptoms of this problem are understood, the pain can be treated.
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What Is Equestrian Back Pain?
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Equestrian back pain is pain that results from frequent riding of horses. It sometimes occurs with no pre-existing condition (e.g., degenerative disc disease), but sometimes the pain occurs because pre-existing conditions are made worse by riding. Most often, equestrian back pain occurs in the lumbar region, or lower part of the back.
Cause
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When on a horse, a rider is subjected to a lot of bouncing, which puts pressure on the spinal discs. Normally, this pressure is minimized by keeping the back flat and sitting up as straight as possible in the saddle. Sometimes riders keep their back arched as they lean back, while others slouch forward. At this improper angle, the spine takes more of a beating, and over time, pain can result from irritation and degeneration of the discs and surrounding tissues. Some people have pre-existing back conditions that make it difficult to ride without pain.
How to Avoid It
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Equestrian back pain can be avoided most easily through awareness and maintenance of good posture while riding. Exercises that strengthen the abdominal, pelvic and lower back regions of the body also may prevent a problem from developing. There also are back braces and support that can prevent the poor posture that causes the pain.
Treatment
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Equestrian back pain may be treated in several ways, depending on the severity. Massage and chiropractic care may relieve painful muscle tension related to disc degeneration and put the spine back into proper alignment. Poor posture that is related to the pain can be remedied by raising the stirrups or getting a better saddle. Riders also can take anti-inflammatory pain relievers, use hot and cold packs, engage in stretching and other lower torso exercises, and undergo physical therapy. In severe cases, the back pain may warrant surgical treatment to remedy disc degeneration.
Who Gets It?
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Equestrian back pain generally is not experienced by those who ride horses for pleasure (i.e., infrequently). It is much more common in those who ride horses for a living, such as trainers or professional jockeys. A person's medical status may affect how great the risk is for experiencing the problem.
Equestrian back pain is relatively common. Researchers from the Department of Sport Science of Canterbury Christ Church College published results of a saddle study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They reported in the abstract that 48 percent of their 108 survey respondents (all horse riders) claimed to experience lower back pain from riding.
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- Photo Credit "Photo de culs" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: josephsardin (Joseph Sardin) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
