Horse Rider's Shoulder & Low Back Pain & Fractured Ribs.

Good riding posture can become uncomfortable and difficult to maintain when your spine off balance. Horse riders can spot this a mile off as it can make communicating effectively with their horse pretty challenging. Their good body awareness makes riders great people for Chiropractors to work with as we monitor functional improvements at intervals throughout a care program.

If you're having to work hard to sit upright in the saddle, something is wrong. When your spine is more comfortable in a slump and you're consciously holding yourself upright it often leads to intense aching in the mid-back and/or shoulder pain.

Test your own body...
Next time you're sitting in the saddle, test your posture by... 
taking a breath in, breathe out, relax and let your body slump. See what happens to your back and upper body as your let go. The 'relax and slump' should just be letting your shoulders and back muscles relax. If your body relaxes forwards in a slumped position you'll be amazed how this changes when you start getting adjusted with ABCTM.

In the last 3-4 months several horse riders have started ABCTM treatment with me. Symptoms they all share are shoulder, neck and back pain.

Pain-free and full range of movement at any joint of the body is made possible by optimum alignment of the entire skeleton, so in each person's case I assess their body as a whole, synchronous unit.

I look for abnormal posture of the spine, arms and legs, then map out the tight/knotted muscles in their body from head to toe. This results in a clear picture of how old injuries, occupational postures and daily habits have contributed to the structural configuration of someone's body. It also gives me an indication of how long it will take to get that person riding again pain-free.

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Normal Shoulder Function Requires...

• Correct alignment of the shoulder joint, collar bone and shoulder blade.
• Extension (backwards arching) in the mid back. 
• Good balance of muscle tone and length of the rotator cuff muscles, chest, neck and back muscles.
• Full range of motion of the neck, mid & low back.

All of these ideals depend on the skeleton being in good alignment. Most people's shoulders abnormally slump down and forwards - next time your in town, check people's posture out! When a person's spine is crooked, specific muscles pull tight (like guy wires of a tent), in order to keep you upright. Pain almost always occurs in muscles and joints compensating for bones stuck in a direction the body cannot fix itself. In the spine this direction is forwards since the body doesn't have any muscles in the back that can pull a single vertebrae directly  backwards.

Again, when you're in town next observe how many people around you are, what we refer to as 'stuck forwards'.

The following image demonstrates how mid-back ache, neck pain and a slumped posture can occur...

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Here's what a couple of horse riders have noticed since starting treatment...

"The pain in my right shoulder has gone and I am standing straighter and taller! This has helped my riding as I am straight and balanced without tensions that were feeding through to the horse." Jenny.

"It's now easier to sit upright and I can turn my head easily to look for traffic whilst riding and driving the car." Nancy.

immediate relief of Rib fracture pain...

"I had a bad fall off my horse last week, I fractured 3 ribs which were making breathing, general movement and sleeping painful. Sarah reassured me that getting adjusted would help".
"Immediately after she had finished I could turn my neck again and the rib pain had noticably eased." Nancy.

Of course this technique does not miraculously heal fractures, however it can significantly help the pain by reducing abnormal twisting throughout the whole body which influences the mechanical forces going through the fracture site.

The great thing is that by using this technique I can be super gentle, avoiding hurting Nancy whilst making the corrections needed. She did say her friends thought it seemed a bit mad to be going to the Chiropractor knowing she had fractures, but that she's extremely glad she did!! Thank you for trusting me Nancy!

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If you're a horse rider and have been putting up with aches and pains, get in touch and we'll discuss how well I can help you.

Email Sarah