How do i stop lower back pain when i ride?
I ride horses. When i ride western, my back is fine. When i ride english, my back hurts after i have been posting for a good ammount of time. What can i do to stop the lower back pain when i post?
Public Comments
1. You might try a lower back support brace to help your posture stay straight.2. Do you ride with a straight back or an arched back?
If you have an arch in your back, that explains it.
Sit up straight.
Do you use your stirrups when you post? If you do, that surprisingly hurts your back. you should go stirrupless for awhile and learn to be independant of your stirrups.
3. Consider your position - are you arching your back at all, tilting your pelvis wrongly maybe, stirrups too short or too long can really upset your position and throw you into a cycle of muscle tension and pain.
Are you riding in lessons or just riding alone ? - it'd probably be a very good idea to get an experienced person to watch you and assess your position critically, or to video yourself so you can be your own critic and spot what things you need to work on.
In the meantime keep your back warm - maybe use some muscle rub and take a painkiller if you must.
A long hot soak or simply lying back on a heated pad or hot water bottle will also help to ease it.
4. You may try a lumbar support belt with or without suspenders. Hunt seat takes considerable more muscle involvement over the back.
You also want to be sure to do strengthening exercises for your lumbar and thoracic spine...you might consider a few lessons with a personal trainer to assist you in addressing your strength problems. Have your trainer show you how to work with a large exercise ball doing some of these exercises...back strength conditioning is critical to avoid serious problems in the future....i.e., lumbar disc, thorasic and cervical spine disc chronic pain or rupture.
If you decide to hot tub it or to use heating pad it remember, first cool the painful area (strains, sprains) with ice and then go to heat. If you reverse this, and use heat first, the painful muscle tissue will swell, and trap nerves along the muscle fibar and create even more pain. Most personal trainers, Orthopedists (MD's), and massage therapists recommend cooling off the area first.
Good luck, be patient and your situation should improve!!!
5. Stop riding english then. Stick to western only.
6. Managing to remove back pain is just the start of having a healthy back - these 8 simple steps will make sure that pain is kept away. As you'll see it's not just exercise, and it's not hard to have a healthy back and healthy lifestyle:
1. Exercise and posture - Keeping an eye on your posture and regular exercise (at any pace you want) a great way to keep that pain at bay.
2. Have a safe place to work and live - make sure you're not stepping over bits on the floor.
3. Always check with an expert first - If you have pain you want to remove, consult a doctor or physiotherapist before you do anything, you can still exercise, but you'll have to make sure you follow their guidance first
4. Don't ignore your abdominal muscles - your abs work in tamden with your back muscles - sometimes you have to do things back to front to get places!
5. Do regular exercises such as swimming, walking, cycling - without straining yourself.
6. Maintain a healthy diet - it helps every part of your body - not just your back.
7. Don't smoke - as well as being bad for the rest of your body, smoking is even bad for your back. Smoking can reduce oxygen levels in the blood and reduce the speed of recovery from injuries.
8. Be careful what you lift up and how you lift it - this is one of the most common causes of injury, and learning just how to lift can be one of the best ways on just how to remove that pain and how to keep it at bay.
As you can see, your improving your whole lifestyle can help the health of your back.
7. Hi, thats a good question, i ride mountain bikes and i have a similar problem. What i do its a few different types of stretches before and after, i saw the stretches on youtube (just search for lower back stretches). You can also take warm baths after to relax your lower back muscles.
In shorts strengthen you lower back muscles, stretch them out and then relax them
hope you feel better
