Crap from the barn

Instead of an article to read for this week I chose a book titled Balance in Movement  How to achieve the perfect seat,  written by Susanne von Dietze.  I decided to investigate how all the muscles in the abdominal core work and how they influence one another.  I thought this book would have some good insight and perhaps reveal the significance of muscle toning, and strength related to the lower back pain in equestrian athletes.  I was also hoping for some physical exercises to help alleviate the rider’s pain.

First, I think it is important to understand what muscles are involved in the riding process so that I know which muscles will  need to be targeted and how.  The book does an adequate job of explaining the muscles groups.  I am mostly interested in those muscles that involve posture.  According to the book, these are called static fibres. These fibres are not responsible for a lot of movement,  instead they are responsible for stability. The author also made an interesting point that sit ups which are commonly done to increase tone do very little to help acquire stability in the abdomen because sit ups require large movements of the muscle.  As a result, very few of the static fibres are engaged.  This information has made me rethink my ideas on the types of physical exercise.  More research will confirm.

The author acknowledged the fact that the deep abdomen and back muscles work mostly on the basis of posture and are automatic balance reflexes. The abdominal muscles provide stability for the front and side of the lumbar spine.  The abdominal muscles are identified as those that “run from the thorax, and the ribs in one straight band and two oblique bands to the pelvis and are attached there flatly at the front to the pubic bone and at the side to the iliac crest The pubic bone and the iliac crest are connected by a taut tendon which also serves as a point of attachment for the abdominal muscle(37).”

                           Image:Illutrunk muscles.jpg

 Causes for lower back pain were discussed to a limited extent.  One of the causes was not relevant to my research because it is a structural deviation in the spine.  The second one mentioned is tension and being braced in the deep muscle layers of the back.  Obviously, this is not conducive for a soft supple seat when one is tense (41).  The deep muscles are only “1/2″ long in some parts of the lower back.  This fact gives a clearer understanding as to why these muscles are not intended for strength development.   These muscles are designed for small motor skills of the vertebra.  They protect the discs, allow for coordination and a healthy back.  This agility and coordination have to react automatically(57). Once again the author states that power training is not the answer. 

 When proper body alignment happens then all the body parts stabilize themselves.  Therefore, there is very little muscular support needed to stay balanced in the saddle.  Any deviation from this position can cause tension throughout the entire abdominal core because any time the muscle is put in a strain for a long period of time the oxygen supply is shut off(71).  The cramped muscle can no longer function properly.  The lactic acid built up in the muscle can not be carried off thus resulting in back pain.

To address the tension, Dietz makes several suggestions similar to last week’s article “The Lowdown on Lower Back Pain.” Dietz supported the claim that one can not work properly if subjected to constant tension which relates to Hanson’s perspective of doing one continuous barn chore for a limited amount of time and then doing something else.  It is best to work in a “rhythmic interplay of muscles (27).” Stress can not react to the demands of the moment, it can only react automatically.  There is no thinking involved and as one may recall I stated that riding is also a thinking sport.  If one is consumed in pain then one can not think properly.

I did find some exercises that can be done while mounted.  However, just as the previously mentioned article suggested, the exercises involved stretching the back muscles.  After the review of how the back muscles are actually designed, I may have to redirect my exercises from strengthening to stretching.  It seems at this point, this is the path taken for lower back pain.

The stretching exercises given in the book consist of just lying on the horse’s back and letting one’s arms dangle around the horse’s neck.  It is important that when the rider is coming up from lying on the neck of the horse that the head come up last and roll the entire body up to the upright posture.  This techniques will not loose the suppleness and the stretch(77).

A second exercise is to rotate the upper body while riding either on a lunge line which is a long lead line held by a person on the ground and the horse goes in circles as the rider’s hand are free or while the rider rides without hands.  The rider can then lift his/her hands above his/her head while holding a whip. The rider then rotates from side to side making sure the hands are at the same height. The movement should be done rhythmically and when complete the position should be held for a dew deep breaths (79).

This book was not as helpful as I had hoped it would be. I thought in many areas it was vague or left me hanging, still wondering what exactly the author meant or needing more explaination. The exercises are helpful and I will probably use them if my initial thought of strengthen the core is not the appropriate route to explore.

Bibiligraphy

von Dietz. S, (2005). Balance in Movement  How to achieve the perfect seat (2nd ed.). North Pomfret: Trafalfar Square

     Publishing.