I’ve recently started having pretty significant knee pain while riding and am hoping a change in stirrup will do the trick.
Does anyone have experience alleviating knee pain with Herm Sprenger stirrups? I’ve been looking at them, specifically with the offset eye, because they highlight a lot about joint pain and that the offset eye is great for comfortable leg position and short riders (which I am).
Any other suggestions would be helpful as well!!
I’ve not tried the Herm Sprengers and will be interested in others’ experiences, but I had some MDC Ultimates with the rotating eye and flexion, and they felt significantly better on my knees and ankles. They did cause more tension in my hips, though, as they made up for the increased movement below.
I don’t have any experience with those stirrups. But I do have experience with knee pain. I had knee surgery at 18 and had some residual knee pain the following summer as a riding camp counselor. What I found was that it wasn’t the position or angle or stirrups that caused the pain. It was holding the joint static for so long while riding. I did lots of stretches before riding to get the joint warmed up, frequently dropped my stirrups and moved my leg around, and then I also stretched after riding and iced my knee down. Any pain after that got a dose of otc pain meds, especially anti-inflammatory.
I hated the springer stirrups. I hated the feeling when I tried to drop into my heels of the stirrups flexing. And my leg never felt stable over a jump. Pictures even show more swing in my leg then I’ve ever had or had since. What helped my knees was a wide footbed. I have the royal riders and love them.
Had them but for my lower back. Very little relief. If you are an advanced rider with rock solid leg? They might relieve the joint but if you are average strength and talent, you get more swing and might find keeping weight properly aligned and down through the heel difficult. My back bothered me more with them.
After much experimentation I ended up going back to a fillis with cheese grater pads for more stability and that did help proper alignment and support the lower back to lessen pressure on L5.
YMMV.
Hi! I’ve started a similar thread before, if not two. I have chronic tendonitis in both knees and ankles, my left ankle and right knee being the worst. Here is what I have tried so far:
I plan on trying the MDC Ultimate’s or Super Sports next, but for right now I am sticking with my Reflex.
I’ve used them for years and have found them to be a life saver with my knees that are in pretty bad shape. They also help my ankles and lower back. I do have a rock-solid lower leg, so I can’t comment about that.
I have the Herm Sprenger Bow Balance stirrups. I’ve had them for almost two years now and I will not willingly ride in anything else. They will always remain my stirrup of choice on my own personal saddle.
I get back, knee, and ankle pain from riding in general. No injuries, just the aged joints of a 25 year old who has ridden for 20 years, hahaha. I bought these stirrups because I liked the idea and because I thought they were super pretty. They come in regular silver, gold, and anthracite. I have the anthracite ones and they look super sporty. After riding in the Bow Balance stirrups, I can’t go to anything else without hating it. They are just perfect for comfort, balance, and for my achy joints.
I ride in saddles other than my own all the time and have ridden in Royal Riders, cheap flexi stirrups, Jin stirrups, etc. I hate all of them, except my Bow Balance stirrups. They aren’t so flexible that they are uncomfortable, the footbed is super wide (which I hate), and the rubber part your foot rests on is the perfect firmness.
I don’t particularly find these stirrups easier to pick up because of their shape, but I wouldn’t buy them just for reason anyway. 
If I could marry an inanimate object, it would be these stirrups. I have awful knee pain after 15 minutes of riding in regular stirrups (stuff, achy, can’t easily straighten my knees when I first get off) and I never, ever feel any knee pain in these. Mine are not offset so I can’t speak to that. I think they took some initial getting used to in terms of leg stability, but since I have tight everything, I find it much easier to get deeper into my heels in these stirrups.
I had knee pain before and I tried the Herm Sprengers and didn’t like them because they are jointed they completely threw my position off and my foot/leg would go in front of me. I will say that they did work though, but jumping was difficult and I was constantly reminded in lessons to slide my heel back.
I then switched to a composite reflex stirrup that had a flex bar and they worked wonderfully. I used them for a couple years actually. I don’t have anything bad to say about them, other than the ones I had were black and no 100% suitable for the occasional jump over into the hunter ring my horse and I do.
About 6 months ago I switched to, the Hunter Classic ones specifically, and LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I’ve had no knee problems and they are exactly what I am looking for in the case I do the random switch to the hunter/eq ring. I definitely recommend.
[QUOTE=Belmont;8492490]
Hi! I’ve started a similar thread before, if not two. I have chronic tendonitis in both knees and ankles, my left ankle and right knee being the worst. Here is what I have tried so far:
I plan on trying the MDC Ultimate’s or Super Sports next, but for right now I am sticking with my Reflex.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! These comments are very helpful. My joint pain seems to be on the outside of my knees so it could be an angle issue. I’m a pretty solid rider - competitive hunter rider for 20+ years - so my leg is strong and still, although a little flawed from an equitation standpoint sometimes. Hoping that the stirrups will help and not hurt my position, and maybe even get me to ride deeper in my heel.
Do you have any experience with the Herm Sprenger bow balance versus the Herm Sprenger with offset eye? The website seems to highlight even more joint relief with the offset eye, but I feel like most people ride in the bow balance.
I have the Herm Sprenger flex stirrups and love them. I don’t recall if it’s the Bow Balance or offset or just Flex, but they are wonderful.
Before I got them, I had knee pain and numbing of the foot when riding and it took a while to wear off after dismounting. I didn’t have knee pain with any other activity.
Once I got the Sprengers, I’ve never had any more pain or numbness while riding. Unless I use a saddle without the flex stirrups. 
I wouldn’t want to ride for long without them. 
I have a nasty old injury in my right knee thanks to a fall off an evil pony about 25 years ago. I took a few years off from riding during college, and when I came back, regular fillis irons created excruciating pain in my knee. It would literally wake me up in the middle of the night screaming. I switched over to those wide black Compositi stirrups and they eliminated the knee pain for several months, until I started riding multiple horses a day and spending 5-6 hours in the saddle on any given evening. Pain creeped back and started seriously affecting my riding.
So I switched over to the jointed Sprenger type and haven’t looked back. They are literally the only stirrups irons that keep me pain free, even when I’m riding multiple horses every day. Anytime I sit in somebody else’s saddle with regular irons, the pain is back within a half hour.
They’ve been a life saver.
[QUOTE=JMH88;8492865]
Thanks! These comments are very helpful. My joint pain seems to be on the outside of my knees so it could be an angle issue. I’m a pretty solid rider - competitive hunter rider for 20+ years - so my leg is strong and still, although a little flawed from an equitation standpoint sometimes. Hoping that the stirrups will help and not hurt my position, and maybe even get me to ride deeper in my heel.
Do you have any experience with the Herm Sprenger bow balance versus the Herm Sprenger with offset eye? The website seems to highlight even more joint relief with the offset eye, but I feel like most people ride in the bow balance.[/QUOTE]
I too am pretty solid with my leg, but the Sprenger just made it feel swingier? If that makes any sense. However, I will state that I tend to over flex my ankles, and I don’t mean too. Even when I try not to, my trainer still yells “less heel”. So, the non-flex stirrups help me actually grab onto something, whereas with the flex I never felt like I really had a balancing/stopping point. They were VERY comfortable tough, and I wouldn’t mind having a spare pair. The resell on them is pretty good as well.
I just suggest trying some, if you can. Try a bunch of different ones, if you can.
I have never tried to off-set eye, but I would love to try them. That is why I am looking at the MDC. They have an off-set, flexi stirrup, but I have heard the flex in the MDC is not nearly as bendy as the Herm Sprengers, which could work for me. MDC does offer trials of their stirrups!
I found a tiny bit of improvement with jointed stirrups (like you, pain on outside of knees), but got desperate and went to a physical therapist. Exercises to strengthen my hips and the muscle on the outside of my thighs has made a world of difference! Huge!!
There were a couple sessions of dry needling,too. Very effective.
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