How long to heal, or just sympathy:(

[LilyandBaron]

My horse bolted a month ago. He’d been off over a year - diagnosed/treated Lyme, but chasing phantom issues ever since. I thought he was finally on the mend - wasn’t ouchy while tacking up. But he bolted from just a loose rein walk. He’s a roly poly, and made a sharp, 90 degree turn, saddle slipped. I came off hard against the back wall of my compost bin, taking the brunt of the fall on my right knee, since I couldn’t roll. Pushed my hip/lower back sharply backward. I felt warm pain across my lower back immediately, but thought movement would help. Uh, yeah, no. Went to ER, x-rays and CT scan showed nothing broken.

First week was awful - ice, ibuprofen and pain meds. Couldn’t sit up, had to roll awkwardly to get into/out of bed/couch. After week, went to acupuncture twice, then started myofascial release/occupational therapy. I’m improving, but wondering how long this will take??? I have a hematoma that’s gone down above my right glute/bottom of lower back. Hip flexor is sore, as are obliques on both sides. Walking helps, but if I twist my torso the wrong way, I pay dearly. My myofascial person said another week and maybe I could think about riding (not Lyme boy - retired him due to my belief despite clean bloodwork, he has pain or mental issues from Lyme - owned him 10 years so I feel I know him and this is best for both). And she didn’t seem to think the pain a month out from the trauma was abnormal.

Anyone else basically jacked up all the tendons/ligaments/muscles in a hip/lower back due to a fall? How long before you felt “normal”? Lingering issues?

[Bluey]

Until someone answers directly, see if something here helps?

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/riding-with-health-issues/10063584-grumble-grumble-fell-off-green-bean-injured-si-on-one-side

Your dismount seems similar to some in that thread.

[MsM]

My sympathies! I don’t know how long it will take, but I am impressed by your pursuit of appropriate treatment. I will say, when I have had injuries involving both bruising and muscle strains, I would say six weeks was when I felt normal if I was careful. It took another few weeks for the “oops, moved the wrong way” pains to resolve (mostly). Yeah, some lingering issues still - achy some days and sharp pains from twisting wrong and muscles that tend to spasm. Manageable though, and gentle riding helps!

BTW any other issues with Lyme boy? I have a friend who has a relatively new horse. Everything was going well at first and then he suddenly became violently resistant to the point of rearing. Lots of vet visits and treated for possible ulcers, hocks injected, back xrayed, acupuncture to no result. She was told when she got him that he had been treated for Lyme last summer, so your experience made me think!

[Bogie]

I am recovering from a fall that I had January 20th. Granted, I broke a few things but now that the bones have healed it’s the ligaments and tendons and soft tissue injuries that are holding me up. My orthopedic guy declared me good to go after 8 weeks, but I"m so not ready. So, while I am not in the same boat as you, I can sympathize. If you have access to a pool, I’d suggest some aqua therapy. It’s the part of my PT that I actually enjoy. You can increase your range of motion and strengthen your hip flexors without being weight bearing.

[LilyandBaron]

I really want to heal properly to minimize future issues, and actually glad it’s been crappy weather - not as tempting to try to ride too soon!!! Glad to know it’s normal to be slow going, even if it’s really frustrating!

For my Lyme boy, I first noticed ulcer like symptoms our second fall in Ohio. I got him in CA, and he was a rescue, so either CA no-seasons agreed with him, or I didn’t notice behavior as medical vs behavioral. He had a virus one winter, ulcers a few others. But starting in summer 2016 he got spookier and hyperesthetic. When ulcer treatment failed, tested for Lyme, showed acute titer. Treated with doxy and I used TCM Lyme herb blend. Blood work clean since, but ulcers, bad sweet itch, just weird things ever since. I’ve treated ulcers, done acupressure, chiro, laser therapy, various supplements, and latest addition was Adequan. Thought we were getting on track, but reading Lyme blogs for humans - even if blood tests are normal, people have bizarre symptoms. I had been grooming him and when he acted girthy, I wouldn’t ride. He’s a sweet boy, so I believed he had pain when he acted badly. The last ride, he was fine grooming. So I’m just done - he’s retired and loved at my home, but I can’t risk it nor keep throwing money at the mystery. He’s 17, so thought we’d get a few more years of fun riding, but I’m done. The fall alone wouldn’t have led to retirement, but the year+ of frustration made it the final straw.

[eclectic]

Took ~5 weeks for me to put full weight on a leg with a bruised bursa. It really helped that I was told from the outset that it would take that long, so I didn’t have the worries over feeling pain, wondering what was wrong, and when or if it would get better.

[Denali6298]

Oh no! My sympathies to you. Healing, I have learned, is so individual. Three years ago I got kicked by my horse. My MCL was detached at my femur, ACL, PCL, and meniscus were blown. My bones were at a 45 degree angle. I required two knee surgeries and had to re-learn how to walk. This happened mid February and I was back in the saddle by April. My surgeon,who thankfully by luck is one of the best in the world for knees, was shocked at my recovery.

All that being said, I followed his instructions and the back on track products helped so much. I wish you well in your recovery.

[Magicboy]

Soft tissue injuries are, IMO, much worse than broken bones. I think you are doing everything right but don’t rush
anything give yourself lots of time.

[Corgilover80]

My sympathies. I feel your pain. I had an unscheduled dismount in November and landed hard on my lower back. I fractured my S1 and coccyx. The only treatment was rest, ice and ibuprofen. After 3 months of pain, I saw a specialist and was prescribed tramadol and physical therapy. I started riding in April and am okay, but still have to take a pain pill afterwards so I can function. Lower back injuries are slow to heal. Patience is key and don’t rush back to riding too quickly.

[yaya]

I had a fall last month and ended up with a compression fracture of L2. Doc said 6-12 weeks, but at the 6 week mark, said take 12 weeks. I was really hoping to be back on at 6 weeks, especially since there is very little pain (except those first 2 days). It’s frustrating!

So definite sympathy here!