Spinal fusion L5-S1, now Sacroiliac joint dysfunction

[EarwenES]

OK, so I had a spinal fusion year and a half ago and was in hopes of being able to ride again, but I ended up with increasing pain in the hips, groin and thigh. I still have low back pain over my bone graft, particularly after sitting. I was just diagnosed with sacroiliac joint dysfunction and given a steroid injection. The doctor who did the SI injection described the SI joint as being “the next link in the chain to go” after a fusion. Has anyone else had this happen and if so did things improve?

I mat a point where I feel like I need to make some decisions with my horses. My BWP mare is leased through June, but I have her 2 year old colt by Ironman at home. My pain lis to the extent that trying to work part time and be a halfway decent mom to my three kids is all I can do. If anyone has any experience with these issues, good or bad, I would love to hear them.

It took me thirty seven years to get such nice horses, and I hate to give up on my dream…ok, I’d settle for doing 2’6… but if it is hopeless I’d rather give these horses the homes they deserve.

[whicker]

Hope

Look into your own stem cell procedure to “glue” your S.I. and spinal ligaments back into place. P.R.P and BMAC procedures have worked well for me and my family. They can now do disc “plumping up” and other joints, too. I’m now 9 years out from multi-level spinal compression fractures, squashed discs and hyper-extended pelvic ligaments to go with the unstable S.I. (Got hit by a deer while galloping a big DWB.)

I have had a lot of P.T. to learn how to move, what I can do and how to rock the S.I. back into position. I can ride well enough to foxhunt with the 2nd flight, do low jumps and ride about 2 1/2- 3 hours. I am more comfortable in 2 point than walking. The horse and saddle have got to be soft moving. I found teaching the greenies to jump to be too hard on my back. The awkward efforts gave me too much concussion. Plus, it can be hard to stay with them when they are over-jumping and soaring above the standards and the instructor.:eek: A back cracking bascule also cracks my back, too.

The P.T. may also have other ideas to help you. Sometimes a stability belt helps while you are building core strength. I have to be careful how much weight I lift and at what angles. Bending, Lifting, and Twisting are not good. Have to use the techniques for them.

[EarwenES]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to post all that information. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I know nothing about SI joints and I just couldn’t believe something else went wrong.

Getting hit by a deer on a horse…horrible…in a million years who would expect that!!!

The back cracking bascule, is that back cracking in a feels good way, or a to be avoided way? Both of my horses are super athletic and round over fences…I fear I’ll either need to jump things small enough to step over or get something with a flatter jump.

I am sooooooo glad to hear things have improved for you. It has been two years since I got hurt and I’ve started giving up hope…especially with the development of the SI joint problem.

Thank you again for your time Whicker!

[flashwhitelock]

there’s still a lot that can be done to strengthen around the joint and make it more comfortable. Yeah, sitting the trot is probably not going to be in your future but jumping position works like a charm. I hope it all goes well for you.

[Mucknfeed]

I had S1/L4/L5 fused 13 years ago. I had a later discectomy on L3 that actually got rid of most of my pain. I’ve gotten worse (degenerative disc disease), in the ensuing years, but have had 13 years of walking and riding, so no regrets.
Every situation is different, you’ll have to see how it goes, but don’t give up on horses and riding in advance. You put your neck and next level up at greater risk of wear and tear, when you’re fused, just realize that. Also realize that with each ensuing surgery, the odds get worse on how well you do, so take care from now on, and enjoy every minute you have with your horses. Good luck.

[whicker]

beyond hope, now kick on

Earwen,

There is lots to research and learn about improving your back and S.I. I’m quite happy to pass on the things and suggestions that have helped us. Please feel free to give me a call or email. (Email rather than p.m. so I can keep your letters together. Makes it easier to find again)

I’m one of the 3 founders of this forum, because of my own need to find others to brain storm with. So, you are helping me, too.

If you focus now on improving your back, you will be able to do much more than I can at this point. But, you will need to keep up the strategy and strengthening exercises. By the way, I have broken my back at least 4 different times, judging from the x-rays. After the really bad one in '74, I went on to event at the Olympic selection trials and long listed. They didn’t know anything about falls at that time.

It wasn’t until the deer fall 10 years ago, that anyone figured out that there might be a problem. And it took going to multiple doctors to find someone who even paid attention to the obvious.

The most important person for me is Mary Wilson, at Middleburg Physical Therapy. (540 687-6565) She is board certified in advanced P.T. for orthopedics and neurology. She and her husband, Del, can teach at the medical school level and beyond. They stay up with the state of the art and who the best doctors are for a particular ailment. She is the one who suggested all the different specialists and the stem cell PRP. She is also quite a good horsewoman, so she speaks our language and understands us. You can tell her what the horse did, how you handled it, and she can translate that into what happened to your body. I highly recommend her and strongly suggest that you consider having at least an evaluation appointment with her. (You may see a number of the world class riders in the waiting room, too. I got to know Jan Byyny there, for example.)
One of the things she does is give longer term training. The exercises are designed that they can be done anywhere and may use light easy- to- pack equipment, like bands. Riders come in to get updates on their exercises and then come back when they have gotten too easy. That may be designed for a month or more in advance, for the people who are on the world circuit or, say, in Fla, for the winter.

The PRP dean of the gurus is Dr. Mayo Friedlis. He is one of the great long time researchers in the field. Mary suggested him. He has not only glued me back together again, but also my world champion and Olympic level friends. Some of whom became that level after he worked on them! If he can’t do the procedure that you need, he will know who can. And he is also a horseman!

http://www.treatingpain.com/medstaff/mayofriedlis_MD.html

There are many google entries for him, so there is much to learn about regenerative procedures. He was on TV quite a bit when the starring quarterbacks of both teams of the NFL Super Bowl had PRP just before the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, there was such a rush of people afterwards getting PRP that the insurance companies stopped paying for it. However, it isn’t expensive to do. It was under $1,000 per session, the last time I was in. A whole lot less than surgery! And you don’t have down time, either. And it hurts less than an epidural.

I hope that I will hear from you,
Robin Hirst
robinhirst@blazebroadband.com
540 364-4455

[whicker]

Earwen please

Earwen,
I sent you an email.

[EarwenES]

Hi Whicker, I sent you one back, thank you so much!

[cb_cg]

I feel your pain…

Not the fused spine, but the SI joint disfunction. I’ve been dealing with mine for almost 2 years now and I’m happy to report that ‘sitting’ (as in the trot!) is not necessarily out of the question I would never have thought it, but about 2 months ago, almost all of a sudden, I was finally able to really sit and follow my very big-moving dutch gelding.
It was a combination of PT, drugs, SI belt, an excellent chiroprachtor, some determination and finally having a horse that could lift and carry through his back.
I found the most improvement (least pain) for me was when I began riding with the SI belt. After about 2 months I was able to ride without the belt occasionally, and after about 6 months I rarely used it. (But I still carry it in my barn-bag just in case). I didn’t practice the sitting trot much, as that was the thing that aggravated my SI joint the most. But as I got stronger overall the trot fell into place.
When I first started with the belt I would allow one or two 'shock’s of pain at the start of a ride as that seemed to be typical of my back adjusting to the in saddle position. I would do a full hour lesson (at whatever level I could maintain) as long as the pain did not persist or grow more frequent. I iced it a lot.
I only ride in my own saddle (which was custom) and I found an ultra thin-line pad helped reduce some of the concussion.
Do NOT ride in anything that is CAIR or similar!
My coaches are excellent, and learned to identify some of my position flaws that aggravate that joint. We worked on and off the longe and they can now often prevent a flare-up by being super vigilant about my low-back position.
I ride 3-4 times a week, almost always in a lesson.
I still have joint pain, but seldom when riding and find that a following sitting trot is now one of the most comfortable spots to be in.
I am a dressage rider, so I can’t speak to your hunter aspirations, but maybe you’ll see a spark of hope in my experience… I was afraid it was the end of dream for me too!