How equestrians can mitigate back pain: spinal surgeon weighs in
The repetitive nature of riding means riders are predisposed to back pain but core strengthening exercises could help mitigate problems, a leading surgeon has said.
Consultant spinal neurosurgeon Anthony Ghosh spoke to H&H about the back-related issues he typically sees in riders, preventative measures equestrians can take and why looking at the body as a whole is important.
“Due to the nature of the sport, where we have what is known as repetitive axial loading – that means vertical impact forces that are repetitive where the spine is sort of upright and going up and down – we do see a much higher prevalence of disc disease,” said Mr Ghosh.
“But the important point for readers to take away is we also know from studies that if we scan people in general who have no back pain at all, we find worn discs in a lot of them. Just because there is a high prevalence of degenerative disc disease, that in itself doesn't mean you have to be a back pain sufferer.
“Your scan isn't the factor that's going to define you and what your life is going to be like. There's a saying in medicine: treat the patient, not the test results.”
He added: “Core gets a bit overplayed in the world of back pain and spine health; the reason you have back pain isn't because you have a weak core. But that said, strengthening the core can be a useful tool in reducing your back pain.”
He explained that these include the muscles that run up and down the spine, the paraspinal muscles, abdominal muscles that come around a person’s front and sides and also the glutes and hamstrings.
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“If you build a brace of muscle around the lower back, 360 degrees, what you’re doing in effect is giving the spine a nice, natural brace,” said Mr Ghosh.
Mr Ghosh referred to the “McGill big three” as useful core-strengthening exercises that may help prevent back pain. These are the bird dog, curl up and side-plank.
“If you’re suffering from a bout of back pain, I would advise you to see a physiotherapist – there are variants of those exercises that any good physio will know and will be able to tailor them to your ability,” he said.
Mr Ghosh also recommended riders who have developing aches, weakness, pain or numbness in their limbs to get checked out by a medical professional.
Looking at riders overall, he said that although core exercises are important, people should not be “overly obsessed with the back alone”.
“As part of your day-to-day or weekly routine, there should be some resistance training throughout the whole body; just like any kind of workout, it's all part of a bigger system,” he said.
‘We’ve gone from getting six and a half and seven, to eight and nine’
Phillipa Hendry went to see an osteopath in February after injuring her back lifting soaked haynets.
Mrs Hendry, 61, who won the LeMieux BE100 grassroots championships at Badminton in May with Flyer Des Coupeaux, was told her muscles were going into spasm owing to the heavy lifting – but that she also had an old injury and her lower back was “locked solid”.
She worked out that her original injury must have been caused by a rotational fall in her 20s. It had not been causing her pain, but she had been consistently getting comments on her dressage sheets along the lines of, “lovely horse, lovely movement, just needed to be more supple over his back for higher marks”.
Mrs Hendry wondered if the two were connected.
She asked her osteopath for exercises, which she has committed to doing regularly, and said that the difference in the way “Fly” goes is “like chalk and cheese”, particularly in the free walk.
“We’ve gone from getting six and a half and seven, to eight and nine,” she said. “That’s not only on him, but the marks for my other horse have gone up massively as well.”
She added: “I'm just so gutted for my horses that I didn’t manage to identify this years ago. It’s only now I can feel the difference in the horses that I’m thinking that’s how it should have felt for all those years.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.