Bandy knees (me not horse!)

[stayathomer]

I've had a lot of problems in the last few years with my knees and have basically been told there's nothing that can be done except injections if they get really sore and a knee replacement if they get much much worse. At the moment the bones rub together and they're quite weak. I have been told to give up certain exercises but was hoping to go back horse riding. I was wondering if there was anyone out there with horrific knees (they can really grind and when I bend down etc they don't fully support me) who regularly rides and how do you find it? When I did ride I could basically walk, trot, canter, do small amounts of jumping and very very basic dressage. I also did a lot of hacking. I'm nearly 40 (but feeling much, much older, hence I want to get back to what I love!) Thank you

I have burstitis (sp?) on my hips and get a lot of pain/stiffness. My knees and my ankles can be painful, too. They’re bad enough to make it difficult to climb the stairs, but I’ve been able to ride without much trouble. I think the fact my right hip is the worst might make me a bit unbalanced, but I manage OK. If I get pain from anywhere, it will be my ankles. Have you tried riding recently?

Not since the knee trouble, no, I suppose the doctor telling me not to run made me think about how sore my knees used to get if I was tense riding so I couldn't even think of what would happen now! But am totally craving going back ...

I cannot run anymore. My muscles are so stiff/sore and my joints ache within minutes of running. However—for some reason—riding doesn’t cause me much trouble.

Have you tried yoga? I do ashtanga yoga and it really helps my joints. There are different types of yoga. Ashtanga is quite fast moving so it also helps keep me fit now that I can’t run.

historyrocks thanks so much, will look into that!