Re: [RC] knee pain and riding downhills - Stephanie E Caldwell
Mel,
>>Anyway...would wearing some sort of knee brace help me? I'm taking
800 mgs Motrin before riding and it helps but still have >>pain. I'm
training in hilly terrain. I could get off and on hills but it is so hilly here
I would spend more time on the ground than on >>the horse!
What I found I was doing was trying so hard to stay balanced I was locking
my knees and gripping with them, my lower leg was swinging back instead of
forward like msot peoples and tipping my upper body forward. After I dislocated
my knee last summer I found that down hills were excruciating for me, so I
started dropping my stirrups going down hill and holding onto the cantle of my
saddle with one hand and concentrating on keeping my leg contact over the entire
area while staying in modified two point (butt touching the saddle, but weight
on my thighs and legs), my knee pain went away. So, after doing alot of no
stirrups and bareback hill work I started keeping my stirrups but really feeling
that contact all the way down my leg.
An exercise I had to do when I was riding hunters to keep from gripping
with my knees that might help you... Turn your leg strait ahead and let your
feet stick out so that just from above the knee into your upper thigh is in
contact with the saddle. This is easiest in two point/three point at a trot or
canter, but it's great to strengthen the muscles on the inside of the thigh and
helps some with balance.
I still do that when my knees or ankles get achy on the trail. It's also a
good test to see if your horse stops, that means your having to constantly keep
leg contact!
