Physiotherapy for horse riders, banish your horse riding imbalances and improve your horse riding position

Case study, dismounted assessment and treatment

• Do you look like this?
• This horse has had physiotherapy for a back problem.
• This rider has a history of back and neck problems.

On dismounted assessment of this rider, it was discovered that she had a marked restriction and weakness in one hip giving her body no alternative but to be wonky! This was well established and not just going to affect her riding. For example she did not sit straight at her computer at work. No matter how loud her instructor shouts, or how hard she tries to correct her position, it will not happen until she corrects her body's imbalance.

• Improve her body awareness and teach her to find her "neutral posture"
• Reeducate her muscle control and ability to move one part of her body while maintaining stability in another (crucial to riding!)
• Stretch the restriction in her hips and spine
• Rebalance her pelvis, hips and spine

Not only will imbalances around the pelvis and hips create asymmetry which can cause pain BUT:

Once you have had back pain it is proven to diminish your body awareness and motor control.
Imagine trying to fasten your shirt buttons when wearing a glove - it's much harder to do, not because you are weak but you have less "feel" and therefore less control. This is exactly what happens to the body when it is injured and it rarely recovers unless specifically retrained. Pain is such a strong signal that it interferes with all the other signals going to the brain leading to reduced feel and control of the injured area.

So, have you ever been injured? If so, this will have affected your body's alignment and muscle control.

Why do we develop imbalances?
The soft tissues of the body are very adaptable
All of us, some more than others, develop imbalances within our musculoskeletal system, due to the stresses we apply to our skeleton. The length and tension of our soft tissues (ligaments, muscles and connective tissue) depend on the stresses we apply to them. If you keep a muscle in a stretched position, it will become longer. If it is kept in a slack position it will become shorter. Prolonged static postures cause the greatest soft tissue changes. We are all guilty of this as we are made to sit at school for prolonged periods from a young age and unfortunately a lot of us at work too. We do not lead the life of an animal, but yet I'm afraid that's what we are!