Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Dede, as one who lives with a herniated lumbar disk
(and now a herniated cervical disk too) I can
sympathize with your pain and dilemma...

Here's what I do:

1. Invest in a good supply of ThermaCare patches.
These are a wonderful wonderful invention. They are
heat wraps that are activated when you open them and
expose them to air. They apply heat to a sore spot of
the body for up to 8 hours. They come 3 in a box for
about $7 or $8 and worth every penny. I like the ones
for menstrual cramps.. it's just the shape and where
the sticky stuff is that they stick real well to
whatever body part you need to apply heat to.

2. Get thee to physical therapy. When I ruptured my
disk, some well meaning friends gave me some back
exercises to do. Unknowingly, I did them and my back
got worse. Well, there are specific exercises for
specific back injuries. What they had me doing was the
exactly wrong thing for my injury.. it spread the disk
further rather than help it close! So get your doc to
send you to a good PT group and get the right
exercises to do.

3. Make sure your posture is good and your saddle
helps support your back by not putting you in an
awkward riding position. You might have to readjust
your stirrup length up or down for more comfort for
your back. Make sure you aren't tipping forward in the
saddle or sitting in a chair seat.. either one will
exacerbate the problem.

4. Invest in a pair of wide bottom stirrups if you
don't already have them. And the kind with springs
will help even more.. EZ Ride has a new one with a
sort of spring action. Also Trail Tech IIIs have a
rubber grommet that take the jar out of posting the
trot. (I also have a really bad arthritic knee and
wouldn't be able to ride at all without my Trail
Techs).

5. Get thee too a chiropractor. I just went today
after my horses were telling me that something was
wrong. turned out I was really skewed and my right hip
was more than an inch higher than my left!

6. Have an xray taken of your back to see if you have
some arthritic damage going on there. If so, you may
find some real relief with a Cox2 enzyme inhibitor. I
know Vioxx has been removed from the market, but
there's others. I take Bextra. It's been a miracle
drug for me. If I quit taking it, I'm nearly crippled
with my knee. When I take it I am fairly mobile (but
don't ask me to do a trot out.. I need a designated
trotter, LOL).

Anyway, hope these ideas help.

chris (who thinks this getting older stuff wouldn't be
so bad if it didn't hurt!)


--- Dede Johnson <dedej@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Okay Ridecampers,
>       We're a group of tough riders that have years or
> riding under our 
> collective belts and the injuries that go along with
> it.  So, I thought 
> this is a great place to ask advice.  After a recent
> (about 5 weeks 
> ago) parting of the ways with my mare, I have lower
> back pain.  It was 
> the kind of spill that was very jarring and I hurt
> all over for the 
> next  few days (kind of like a car accident).  Aside
> from fracturing my 
> thumb, nothing major was hurting, but gradually my
> lower back has been 
> aching.  I wake up in the morning and have that
> UUGGHH kind of pain.  I 
> can take 4 Advils and it doesn't do much.  I can
> still function pretty 
> much but don't enjoy constant pain.  I've got a ride
> coming up and want 
> to be able to do it.  Does anyone have any remedies
> for lower back 
> pain?  I'm on my feet most of the day, and that's
> probably better than 
> sitting but I'm hoping for some relief soon.  I'm
> open to anything, 
> OTC, homeopathic, etc.
>
> Dede
> central CA, where fall has finally arrived.
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=====
"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

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