Pain after riding

[AnnieMB]

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone had any advice....I'm 55 and and have been riding for a couple of years, normally once or twice a week max but I really love it. I've finally got to grips with cantering and not sure if linked or coincidentally I've started getting lower back and hip pain the day after riding which lasts for a few days. I really don't want to stop riding and wondered if anyone had any advice on anything I can do, exercise, physio etc?

Pilates/equipilates is excellent for stretching and loosening prior to, and after, riding. If you are getting pain while riding it suggests that you are holding tension in these areas when you ride. Equipilates has been created on the foundations of pilates but focuses on the muscles used in riding. It really revolutionised my riding and every day life. Once you have been taught how to do movements it is really easy to incorporate them into a daily routine.
I also go for Amatsu treatments to complement the equipilates.

Thanks for your reply. I've gone back to doing Pilates but I haven't heard of Equipilates so I'll check that out. I've booked myself onto a 3 day riding camp in a couple of months so need to sort myself out before then! I have had hip issues previously so yes probably an imbalance which is becoming more of an issue now I'm doing more in my lessons.

I feel your pain, even though I'm very fit generally and have been lucky to never have any kind of serious injury over a 50 year on and off riding career, as an older rider all sorts of aches and pains creep in that never used to be there, I really feel it especially if I've not ridden much for a week or two (holidays or illness or whatever). Couple of things that help, are you strict about warming yourself up properly before getting on and cooling down/stretching out afterwards? I know it can feel a bit silly being on the yard stretching because it's something so few riders take seriously or do at all but you wouldn't go for a run or gym session without warming up your muscles first and most people are scrupulous about warming the horse up carefully so why not the rider too? It really does make a difference. Ideally find a riding teacher that knows a bit of pilates to teach you a proper stretch routine (best if someone checks your form first or you can do more harm than good), or failing that a pilates teacher who knows a bit about how muscles get used in riding.

The other thing which you may not be able to change but to be aware of is, is it a riding school you are riding at? I ask because certain horse types and saddle shape/fits give me absolute murderous pain in my hips whereas others are fine - it's wide barrelled cobby types with choppy strides that are the worst for me, but even on a narrower horse, certain saddle types that have the stirrup bar positioned to encourage an out of alignment hip and lower leg (for me, it's fine on others) have started to cause me real problems. Again, it's little considered in the horsey world, we've woken up to the need to fit the saddle to the horse properly but not everyone fits it to the rider as well. Of course in a riding school you can't expect a saddle that meets your exact specifications but it would be interesting to map if you get the same pain on all the riding school horses you ride and if saddle type or horse conformation makes a difference. Do tell your instructor about the pain as well and get them to check your stirrup length and general positioning in the saddle, I see a lot of beginners allowed to ride with very long stirrups and swinging lower legs when shorter might give them a bit more stability...

I’m a Sports Massage Therapist specialising in riders and completely understand the aches you’re describing.
It might be worth looking into some regular treatment to look at relieving muscle tension caused by time in the saddle and realignment and balance of both sides of the body (we’re all wonky as human beings!)
Echoing a PP……Pilates/Yoga will most definitely help too.

Thanks all, really helpful replies. Interesting about the saddle, we part loan a horse at a riding school so do ride the same horse each time (a beautiful cob) I ride. He has had some issues with his saddle recently so wonder if this might be contributing to my issues? (The school are working on solutions for the saddle). Yes I confess to not warming up properly so I'll try and get better at that. I did buy the Activate your seat bungee programme so will give that a proper go too. Any views on what therapy might bring most benefit...physio etc?

When you sit the canter your hips absorb the impact, bit like sitting trot. If you have hip issues already, it might just be that you need to spend more time stretching and warming up or try riding in a halfseat, see if it still happens.

Ended up going to see a physio and now trying to consistently do the recommended exercises but good news was she didn't think I had caused any damage and fine to keep on riding. My instructor thinks it might be the saddle but I'll see how it is tomorrow after not cantering in my lesson today. Wish I'd started riding when I was younger!

How did you get on OP?

I would highly recommend looking at Meg Parkinson on Instagram. She is a riding coach, pilates and yoga instructor with a big focus on rider biomechanics.

She has a podcast too called "Let's talk horses".

It is highly likely that you are tight somewhere and some suitable exercises will help.

Thank you. The physio was reassuring that I wasn't causing significant damage but needed to take things slowly to build up more strength in my back/core. I've ridden a few times since it settled down and am back at Pilates but I'll definitely check out the podcast recommendation too. Seems to be cantering that can cause a problem so I'll limit how much of that I do each time....has taken me so long to do it I possibly did over do it! I'm sure you're right that I have an imbalance which I need to work on. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and advice really appreciated