Back Trouble

I have long felt very blessed that while my friends and family have occasionally had debilitating back pain I have always managed to avoid it. I’m not talking about the kind of pain I get after riding a horse for too long or falling off of a horse or even doing too many massages in a day. I am talking about pain that comes out of nowhere and stops you in your tracks.

This pain has been creeping up on me for a while I’m not sure what made it start currently but it originated when I got knocked over in the pasture several years ago. When stormy was young , she knocked me over in the pasture when another horse frightened her. At that time I went to the doctor and discovered that I had several compression fractures in my lumbar spine. With rest, massage and Chiropractic I healed relatively quickly. And, I was good until last spring when I had to discharges from her back within a week of each other. For the last year the pain has been managed with Chiropractic and massage and I have fared pretty well. Until a few weeks ago when I came off of Paladin when he spooked at C-bar stables. I have had several massages and Chiropractic treatments in that time period and thought I was doing okay until we had a nice storm. Then I got out of schedule and I have yet to kick the and I have yet to kick the chronic pain. I do go back to the chiropractor tomorrow and I am hoping to and I am hoping to also get in with the massage therapist sometime next week.

On Monday the pain became so bad that I finally went to the actual doctor. She determined that I was having spasms and probably have developed some arthritis in the bones where I the bones where I had the fractures a few years ago. Mostly I went to the doctor because I feel like I need some physical therapy to get over this. I am waiting for my referral to go to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Sports Medicine Clinic. They have a physical therapist here in Gatesville , however I feel like I need somebody who specializes in people who are still moving and active. I also have an RX for muscle relaxants and I have been alternating heat and cold as well as doing my stretches. I have bought several classes on the website dailyom.com and have been doing some of the pelvic reset exercises. I am not sure how long before I will feel relief. I had a riding lesson scheduled for today with Greg dial and had to cancel it because I am still hurting so badly. I’ve only had the medication since yesterday evening so I think it is still trying to work its magic. I also was unable to see clients yesterday or today which makes me pretty sad because that means in a few weeks I will be pretty broke. And, more importantly comma it means my clients are not getting the attention they deserve.

I am wondering if anyone here can help me with my back pain. If anyone has tips or tricks I will take them. It is primarily my lower back and I am pretty sure my psoas as and other hip flexors are involved in the pain since it hurts since it hurts all the way down the inside of my leg. I have been doing a lot of pigeon and high and low lunge to stretch out the hip flexors. I also got a Nifty little device to work on the pressure points in my lower back, glutes , psoas. So far nothing has brought release or relief. I if he had any advice for me and he did not. I am looking for something to relieve this pain immediately and make it stay gone forever.

The funny thing is I felt fantastic after I got done riding this weekend. When I got off of Stormy on Sunday afternoon I had not felt that little pain in a while my back felt great and my legs were not sore at all. When I went to the doctor yesterday, I did realize that part of the reason I had felt when I went to the doctor yesterday, I did realize that part of the reason I had felt good the last few weeks in spite of my unplanned Dismount, was because I had been taking steroids for my cough that hadn’t gone away since I had covid. Apparently the steroids were taking away some of the inflammation and pain in my back. The weather has been beautiful this week and I have been stuck on the the weather has been beautiful this week and I have been stuck on the couch or the weather has been beautiful this week and I have been stuck on the couch or in the bed with a heating pad and painkillers. Even though it’s killing me I have wondered if Riding would make it feel better.

I do have a lesson scheduled for Saturday that I will go to come hell or high water. It is with Megan Kenny and she does work in biomechanics. I am hopeful that she can help me figure out what I am doing in the saddle that is causing me so much pain. I will most likely take Stormy because she is the most comfortable and the horse I am riding the most.

The other funny thing is the other funny thing is that if one of my clients came to me with this pain I could help them fix it but I don’t seem to be able to fix it on myself.