I was diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture, has anyone (rider) had this injury? … if so when did you return to riding? I have 3 horses to ride, I no longer jump so my rides are restricted to dressage schooling and hacking. My horses need to get back to work !
Was your fracture riding related? Typically such fractures are weight bearing related (distance runners, military recruits with packs). I’d think riding wouldn’t aggravate them and you could ride to tolerance?
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I rode with one but I sat the trot. Mine was from running. It was low and I had an air cast so I just wore a Blundstone boot and kept riding.
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I rode with one. No posting. Careful on dismounts. Very reliable horse.
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The injury was somewhat riding related, thought I had a "shin splint " after riding 3 horses and trying to improve my leg aids, ignored the pain and took pain killers and walked a lot on cement with rubber boots and bad pronation then walked hard into a solid object hitting my shin and then twisted the leg badly as the last straw… still an odd injury.
Thanks for the responses, I started riding this week after 3 months off and finding my leg is weak and inefficient and my hip on the opposite side of the fracture is quite sore from compensation. I chose not to ride with the fracture as it was painful. Are there any exercises that have helped with return to riding?
For now, yoga and/or Pilates and work on stretching and strengthening the hip abductors and illeo-psoas muscles, any core strengthening is good… Later, work on the quads for your knees. Physical therapy or a trainer (people) who knows his or her stuff is a big help. No impact on that leg. It took months for mine to heal and it was part of a continued painful train wreck of not letting things heal before I was active again. Eventually, you will need to strengthen the bones with steps and weights but if that starts too soon then it all starts over again. Once your core is stronger, your seat will feel much more secure. Very limited standing and walking at first. No stairs. No running. Get a bone scan to make sure it is clear before you pressure that leg and make sure the muscles around your joints are fit. Find an ortho sports doctor who knows about recovering from injury correctly.
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Sounds like you could use PT to help with the strength and crookedness. For localized strength, they would probably prescribe some exercises with Therabands to work the calf and ankle.
I had bilateral stress fractures as a teen from running that went undiagnosed (initial xray showed nothing but despite my pain level, no one thought I needed any other imaging—finally confirmed in my 20s when I had to get an MRI for something else after X-rays at that time showed bone remodeling. So I kept riding. Was not as bad as trying to carry weight up or down stairs, honestly. Anyway, PT is a good thing to try.
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