# Your worst injuries, are you still dealing with them too?



## Fulford15 (Oct 17, 2012)

I am in severe pain lately due to a bad riding incident in 2008... I have gone to the hospital here a few times, all they do is "heres some pain meds, go away" kind of thing... Chiropractors helps a bit but I can't exactly afford to go there 2-3 times a week like I used to when I was covered under my parents, benefits. 
Heres what happened....

In 2008, my horse, Turly, and I were at a Pony Club Camp. Really fun camp, we had Dressage, Jumpers, and Cross-Country... Well, this was mine and Turly's first time on the X-Country course ever. He has had history there with the pond, being scared of it. The first few days he was terrified of the pond, so every evening I would take him out there and lunge him in it, he seemed to have gotten over it, and the next few days we were jumping in and out of the pond like pro's!

Well... the last day of the camp, we jumped into the pond, Turly slipped. I fell off, Turly had fallen onto me and rolled on the bottom half of me. 
He had cuts all over his stomach from the studs in his shoes, but other then that he was sound. I could hardly move, I came up to the surface (noticed there were dead frogs EVERYWHERE, yuck lol), my hips were in terrible pain. I refused going to the hospital, so my coach (whom studied in pyshio therapy) fixed my hips for the interm.

Now I am noticing when I go riding here with the cold, it's extrusiating pain. I take Naproxen every night to help me sleep, and it takes a bad toll on my stomach though. I can literally lay on my stomach and crack my hips, I am only 20 years old, some cold days I can hardly sit down and get back up.

My question is, are there any kinds of exercises that I can do to help this? Or would physio therapy help? Any natural remedies that could help pain? Any stories you would like to share as welll?


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

Therapy would most likely help as they can give you exercises to help. 

I have a bad back ( undiagnosed as far as im concerned as i was over diagnosed back in 2010 with spondylolithesis). I deal with it every day i can feel bone grinding on bone and have days i can hardly move. Have taken muscle relaxers but only one really helped. 
I also have bad knees mcl sprain right now from over correcting my turned out toes to quickly and deteriorating cartilage under my kneecap. 
Among my other problems those were flared up/ caused by my riding. 

Physical therapy had helped a ton when done correctly and regularly.
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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

I have had a ton of severe injuries. Bad knee, hit a tree on dirt bike. Been shot, not once but twice! On deprecate occasions, lost three ribs and exploded my shoulder blade. Lots of broken fingers and small bones and beginig of arthritis I believe. And my back is jacked! Beside commercial pain meds, what helps me the most is cherry juice. Pure real juice. Kinda hard to find and ain't cheap. But man it sure does help the old bones work a lil better. You can get it concentrated (like a syrup almost and mix with water every morning) or pre diluted. I buy the thick one and mix in a big jug that way it's always ready. That's all I could suggest from experience.
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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

Phly where would you find cherry juice? Im curious on that I'm 17 but have inherited bad joints and bones from my dad always willing to try new things that might help.
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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

I get mine from a lil market down the road. And martins supermarket (I'm not sure what's local for you) Its refrigerated so start in the coolers with fruit etc.... Maybe your farmers market?
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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

On a side note, you REALLY need to somehow get off the pain pills. You are going to kill either your kidneys or your liver by taking it every day. I work in outpatient dialysis and I do not wish it upon anyone. 

Taking that much pain killers is a death sentence. :-(

Good luck to you, I hope you find relief soon.


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## DixieKate (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm a pre-physical therapy student and I can tell you that some physical therapy will do you wonders. 2 years ago when I was 20, I got hit by a car going 30+mph on my bicycle. I flew through the air and landed on my left hip on the adjacent street. I hit the ground so hard that it damaged the nerves under the skin and I have a numb spot still to this day. Coincidentally I was doing observation hours at a local PT clinic and got to experience therapy from the patient side. It's expensive but is saved me and insurance can cover a lot. See a doctor about seeing a PT (you need a prescription for it) I promise you it'll help. I spent about 3 months in therapy and had to get back into riding slowly, but even the motion of the horse will help if you ride lightly. I just wrote my research paper on hippotherapy. Horses provide an amazing approach to therapy especially for hip joints and core strength.
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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I tore my ACL, twice. Non-horse related either, both times I fell off a motorcyle. 1st time, I did it really bad & didn't bother going to the doctor, I rehabbed it myself, healed well I thought, although I didn't go back to kickboxing or any hardcore workouts, didn't matter, at that point in my life I was slacking off. Then about 6 years later, I had another incident with the motorcycle, kind of felt something weird in the knee but brushed it off. Then whenever I stressed it, by dancing, riding for long periods of time, or any exercise, my knee swelled up like a balloon and I limped. So went to the specialist, he told me I tore the ACL and some scar tissue that had formed on the ACL, and that it won't heal itself, I needed surgery. So I got it, rehabbed for 5 months, did the physio myself and discovered I was in pretty poor physical condition. From what I had researched, technically the knee should be stronger then it was before the injury, so I just went full force with the workouts, plyometrics, kickboxing, muay thai, calsthentics, you name it. After being in the pain zone for a bit, I am back in fighting shape, that was 3 years ago, so far, so good.


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

Thank you phly I will definitely check it out our farmers market is small but we have a few organic stores and several markets I will be looking around 
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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

BarrelracingArabian said:


> Thank you phly I will definitely check it out our farmers market is small but we have a few organic stores and several markets I will be looking around
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Keep us posted where you find in your area and how it works for ya. 
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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

Will do!
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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

Ive broken my left wrist twice but never got a cast on it. I also broke a blood vessel in my left thumb, and tore a ligament on my left thumb. So..my left wrist/arm is basically screwed for the rest of my life, lol. Im on anti-inflammatory pills until next november for it, and suppose to be going to physical therapy..but havent gone yet. None of fthose injuries were due to horses..Tripped on a tree branch first break, fell backwards using those **** Heelies the second break, caught a football wrong for the torn ligament, and the broken blood vessel was from my hoof knife doing farrier work.

I pulled both my shoulders out dealing with rearing horses when I wouldn't let go..so while I have very muscled shoulders, the muscle is the only reason I can still lift anything (imo).

My hips are bad..not sure why, but im pretty sure I have arthritis in them and they're always stiff. I feel like Im walking like the bute horses with arthritis when they dont get their bute, haha.

Otherwise..I think the rest of me is still half-decently put/held together, haha.
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## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

Tore my Achilles tendon off and broke my leg and ankle in 5 spots. I still have trouble but nothing I can't manage.


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

OP, perhaps you could try acupuncture. I don't have the nerve to handle that many needles, but I've heard it can work wonders for just about anything,. Therapy would definitely help you though, I think.

I have too many lasting injuries to list, but only two were caused by horses - the first is bulging discs and arthrosis of my lumbar spine which can be eased, but never healed. I also suffered an 'injured elbow' which, 3 months after the fall turned out to be that I'd broken the tip off of one of the bones in my elbow. 2 weeks ago I had it operated on and an arthroscopy. Turned out I had 2 loose pieces of bone instead of one, and the photos from the arthroscopy showed a real mess. I've ruined the cartilage in my elbow, and the bone itself looks like someone's hacked at it with a chisel. I'll likely be suffering serious arthritis in it within the next few years, and I'm not quite 21.

The moral of the story is get in and get it dealt with as soon as you can. The longer you leave it the less chance you have of healing completely. It sounds to me like your hips could very possibly be dislocated. As someone who suffered from recurring knee dislocations as a child, I have a rough idea of what you're going through. In my case, it took a few years of strapping and exercises to 'fix'.


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## ThoroughbredJumper (Oct 30, 2012)

I got half my face torn off when i got kicked in the head when i was 8yo... A horse named Vail kicked me and it ripped the skin off the right side of my face from my eye upward to my hair line. My helmet is the only reason i did not die on impact. My eye was hanging out of my head and blood completely coated my body. According to my twin who saw me screaming running toward her "I looked like a zombie, you could see your skull and your eye bounced and shook as you ran". Lucky for me there was no bone damage (i believe God saved me). However, i lost half the sight in my right eye, and thats still very troublesome today. The doctors told me i would never see again or ride again and that the horrible black color of my skin and the scar would never go away. Obviously they were wrong. 3 surgeries and 6 months of solitude later... I was "good as new". I started riding again after 4 months of seeing therapy, i had no fear of the horses or the one that kicked me. The reason i was in solitude so long was because my eye was swollen shut and sealed shut by dry blood and eye excrete. My right side of my face was always bubbly and swollen, black and ugly purple and blue colored all over... my lip was swollen, everything on my face was distorted. My scar (Harry Potter scar, its a lightning bolt) was always slightly bleeding and deep red. So my parents kept me from going out into public to avoid people being scared of me or me being made fun of (the one time i went to the drug store with my mother 4 kids cried, 2 teens made fun of me, and 1 adult was asked to leave because he called me a demon.) BUT! Hey, im "fine" now!  Only permanent damage is my vision, and my lightning bolt scar shows up when im mad. hahaha


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Sorry about your injuries!! **hugs**
We should all stretch and warm up before we ride. For YOU (and my DH), stretching and warming up in mandatory. Your body has aged bc of your injury. Try to wear layers to keep your muscles warm bc they will relax and prevent unnecessary tissue tearing. You can ALWAYS take off a layer.


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## Fulford15 (Oct 17, 2012)

Thanks for all your replies everyone!!

I am going to look into physio when my benefits kick in, in the new year. If I can find that Cherry Juice I will get some, there are a few stores that sell natural products so I will search! As for leaving it to long, yup I did, biggest mistake ever. Feel like a idiot now! When I went to the hospital the nurses kept asking me "Why didn't you go to the hospital when this happened?" Well I was a stubborn teenager that believed I was fine. But because of that I cannot get immediate help since I have put it off so long. They scheduled me an appointment for an X-Ray, but I am still waiting for it (3 months of waiting now) to find out whats really wrong. Sure am kicking my self now. :?


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You need someone like me, who likes to make cherry pies. =b


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## cloud9 (Mar 1, 2011)

I got bucked off a horse and hit a wall. I compressed all the joints in my lower spine. I did physio for two years without much improvement. Eventually i found a pilates teacher ( i explained to her about my accident) and after two lessons i was armed with exercises that could take the pain away. Now, if it hurts i do ten minutes of pilates in the morning and that sorts it out.I'm not sure if this would work for your injury and, you need to make sure you find a good teacher as i'm sure doing the exercises incorrectly can do more harm than good. I hope you find something that works for you.


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## Lis (Oct 29, 2009)

In 2007 I was bucked off and cracked my shoulder blade, possibly a rib or two underneath and tore the muscles in that side of my back. I have a lump of scar tissue that is visible through my skin, it stiffens up and hurts when it gets colder and is just a pig to deal with when it wants to be but I didn't do my physio properly which screwed it majorly. That's why I plan to follow what the physio says about my hip to the letter. I damaged my hip getting bucked off twice in a row and have done soft tissue damage and damaged the ligaments but it has taught me that crutches are rather fun.


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## katieandscooby (Feb 14, 2010)

My knee is ******ed from hitting the floor in volleyball practice funny probably 10 years ago already. Doctors still have not found the issue, pretty sure it is a combination of ligament and nerves and now some arthritis setting in. I cannot get off a horse after a hard 15 mile ride. I literally have to get my boyfriend to pull me off in a safe place cause I cannot put any weight on it, so I pretty much just fall down. Back is ******ed from lifting a 120 lb frozen dog from the bottom of a big freezer. 
Back on Track products are amazing. My back pain is less, I wear my brace only one to two times a week. I stay fairly pain free with that. I used my braces a bunch though the first month, probably 5 to 6 days a week, 3 to 10 hours a day. But it sure helped.
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## JaphyJaphy (Nov 15, 2012)

About 6 weeks ago I had a youngster with a habit of rearing go up and fall over backwards on top of me. Luckily, I only had badly bruised legs and knees...but the bruises are still there and my right knee definitely hurts. The x-rays didn't show anything though. They just said I'd probably have arthritis when I got older. 

I'm doing yoga for it, which seems to help. I guess a sore knee is better than a broken femur!


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## Equusketch (Jun 16, 2009)

Riders are prone to having very tight hip adductors (inner thigh muscles) and weak hip abductors (outer hip muscles) and those imbalances can lead to hip and even knee problems. I am a physical therapist and would love to give you more advice than just to stretch your adductors, but it wouldn't be ethical of me to do so without first examining you and getting a doctor's diagnosis first, but I am sure a round of physical therapy might benefit you. Most riders have some level of muscle imblanace that can be corrected with proper stretching and strengthening techniques. Definately run it by your doctor first. 

There seems to be this war between chiropractors and physical therapists where both fields seem to despise the other, I guess because they are "competition" for eachother. In my honest opinion, I think "most" people would benefit from an initial adjustment (or several adjustments depending on the injury) and then follow up with a physical therapist for exercises to maintain the body in proper alignment in order to avoid having to return for more costly adjustments down the road. I'd love to see chiros and PT's working side by side to ensure prevention of future flare ups of injuries. 

As for me, I've had a multitude of injuries between soccer, rugby and riding and most of them have resulted in very few lasting effects. I've broken just a few bones, but it seems my bones are very strong and my joints fairly weak. I've had many torn ligaments and dislocations. My worst by far has been my right knee which I blew out initially playing rugby. I tore my ACL and MCL (the MCL on 4 seperate occasions). Back in July I retore my MCL when a horse bucked. I would have been better off just falling, but instead the twisting motion of trying to stay in the saddle did it in. I still have a fair amount of instability and fairly frequent buckling from those injuries. I do A LOT of strengthening of my hip and knee to keep it as stable as possible (still too subborn to do the surgery and 6-9 months of rehab). Riding isn't supper hard on my knee by itself, but I have issues with my femur and tibia subluxating with any kind of jarring motion such as bucking, spooking or tripping, so I wear a specialized brace to prevent another tear.


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