Rusty Riders and those lacking confidence

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Rusty Riders and those lacking confidence

This group is for riders lacking confidence or have ridden before, had an accident and can't get back on or have just not had the time and have gotten a little "rusty".

Location: Gweek Riding Center, Telkwa, B.C.
Members: 26
Latest Activity: Jul 1, 2014

Discussion Forum

How do I get the confidence to ride again? 7 Replies

Started by Barbara Chapel. Last reply by Shirley Apr 10, 2010.

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Comment by Marlene Thoms on September 27, 2012 at 11:14pm

I've seen two totally different type of physios. Both very knowledgeable, one worked on a frozen shoulder (losing function in my hands and arms), but he was pretty aggressive and wow it hurt, but at least he gave me a diagnosis, in about 10 minutes which my doctor couldn't. The other physio was extremely gentle, to the point I wondered if she was going to be effective, but amazingly she was. so whenever I wreck something new, i get to her as soon as possible since things heal a lot faster if they haven't been ignored for weeks and months before treatment.

Comment by Kate Green on September 27, 2012 at 9:26pm

I have seen two chiros, both helpful and one massage therapist. All helpful, but not miraculous.

Comment by Marlene Thoms on September 27, 2012 at 7:36pm

Not sure about  the cost of physiotherapist vs. doctor where you are Kate, but our doctors don't cost, our physios do. However the doctor is useless in my case, so I've learned to skip him anyway. The physio costs, but at least is some help. Sometimes even one or two sessions can make a difference as they usually show you which exercises will actually help. Chiropractors: some people swear by them, but when I found out they wouldn't teach me any self help techniques, I didn't find them very helpful. Toughing it out and just continuing to move the wrong way or aggravate the pain was my first technique, didn't work well.

Comment by Kate Green on September 27, 2012 at 5:08pm

I did not go to the doctor because I have no insurance.  I cant afford a medical bill. It seems that I have some moderate pain as I move all day, mostly in my back.  I don't have too much in the saddle except between mt shoulder blades. It took 18 mos for the major swelling to go down in my spine.  You are right Marlene, falls at my age only get worse. I don't bounce anymore, I break. Seems that since I have started using a saddle, likelihood of a fall has gone way down. I'm still a good rider, and developing as a decent trainer, so I am very blessed. Guess I must have needed to be taught some humility. It has certainly been a humbling experience.  It took so long just to be able to get up and down on my own again.  Fortunately, the action of mounting up doesn't seem to aggravate it any.

Comment by Cindy Jeffery on September 27, 2012 at 4:36pm

Jackie that was a wonderful suggestion but not practical for me, I prefer to wrestle through it.  Marlene my pain is similar to yours in that it isn't just when I ride, I'm a mess on the ground too. At this very moment I have my legs up and I feel no pain, had an extra strength Advil at noon so the pain is moderate.  I'm finding it stays moderate as long as I do my exercises faithfully and take Advil every 3 hours during the day and one at night so I can sleep.  I do feel some improvement since this all began and it give me hope.  Kate that is terrible I hope you feel better soon, you must get a physio and get on a program because a fall at your age will only compound if nothing is done, I am testament to that.  The tough cowgirl thing going on, I tell you it is humbling as I get older.

Comment by Marlene Thoms on September 27, 2012 at 1:10pm

I am sorry to hear that Kate. Falls=not good. There is also some evidence that an injury causing severe pain in any body part can trigger your body to be more sensitive to pain in general even after healing which in itself takes a long time. Extra weight is a double whammy because that can also increase inflammation. But it's not the whole cause, I am not overweight but still seem prone to inflammation and pain long after the initial insult. My physio forbids me from falling again. lol.

Comment by Kate Green on September 27, 2012 at 10:55am

I took a bad fall about 2 years ago and I have severe back pain, pelvic pain, hips hurt and my knees kill me after about 1 hr of riding.  I have noticed since that fall that I have trouble stretching my back, have trouble with everything from the waist down when I walk, but am somewhat comfy in the saddle for the first hour.  Worst of it is that my seat bones sink through and create pressure points over the saddle tree(worse in western than english.) As I mentioned  the knee gets into a bad bind and I have trouble with getting my feet back under me when I dismount.  All the mechanics of my lower body are so far off and my excessive weight I believe hampers healing.  It keeps pressure on along with my activities and job. No end, meds, or therapy in sight.

Comment by Marlene Thoms on September 27, 2012 at 10:43am

In my case it's not the act of mounting, because when it was really bad, the pain was there even if I wasn't astride (just worse with pressure on spasmed tendons). I even tried different positions on a barrel that I had downstairs set up for saddle fitting, but resting on the floor. The problem was in mechanics in my pelvis, partly piriformis syndrome. When the muscles in your butt and back, and pelvis start spasiming (sp) it puts pressure on the nerves. Just being in the astride position, plus pressure from a too hard saddle is enough to set it off, and tomorrow when you get back on again, the muscles are still in pain from the "hang over" of spasm. Correcting the mechanics of hip and pelvis helps (by strengthening and stretching in just the right way), but as you get older, it seems harder and takes longer to heal. One day I rode in the wrong saddle, and in one ride it took me from so-so achy to excrutiatingly painful that took me weeks to correct.

Comment by Jackie Cochran on September 27, 2012 at 8:50am

I once read that the more elderly armored knights of old used a small crane to crank them up, over, then down into the saddle.  From your descriptions Cindy and Marlene, the act of mounting is triggering whatever is wrong with your bodies.

You know any young mechanical genius that can canabalize from several different things and rig you up one?  Then you would have to train your horse to accept the crane and you being lifted onto their back.  A lot of work but doable.

 

Comment by Marlene Thoms on September 26, 2012 at 10:46pm

I don't know if your pain is the same as what I experienced last year, but it sounds about as bad. I had to add a foam pad to my saddle if a used treed. Or I used the Sensation Saddle which was at least soft enough it didn't hurt my sit bone.I had hip pain that felt like bursitis and thigh pain that was pretty bad. Then I couldn't walk without pain after dismounting. I'd wake up in the night with my thighs incredible painful. My physio has helped a lot of that, but I have to really be careful just to keep it down to moderately painful. I thought it was arthritis or bursitis but when I asked the physio to work on it, much of the pain was relieved in a several minutes of work, so it was muscle/tendon spasms seized up which explains my extreme stiffness. Magnesium and Vit D help some. Pain meds aren't really helping anymore.

 

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