Abstract
Low back pain (LBP) is a prevailing affliction among recreational and professional horse riders. It lowers performance and distracts from the development of the athlete. A lower incidence of LBP has been observed in the professional riding population despite higher training volumes. This paper aims to describe neuromuscular mechanisms through which advanced and novice riders attenuate the shockwave generated between the horse and rider. Six novice riders (age 24 ± 7 years), nine advanced riders (age 31 ± 5 years) and four horses (age 15 ± 3 years) took part in this study. Surface electromyographic activity of the riders’ trunk was recorded along with inertial data from the horses’ leg, saddle and vertebrae of the riders at walk, trot and canter. Analyses of variances revealed a superior shock attenuating ability of the advanced group (F (1,38) > 5.023, p < 0.03) as well as a higher overall muscle tone (F (1,488) > 9.80, p < 0.02). Cross correlation analyses between shock attenuation and electromyographic activity showed that groups differ mostly in timing rather than the intensity of muscle activation. This finding is of great interest for equestrian athletes and coaches, as it points to a greater importance of training muscular anticipation within the trunk stabilizers rather than overall muscle activation.
Highlights
Low back pain (LBP) in the equestrian athlete negatively impacts performance by acting as a distractor that alters the coordination dynamics of the horse and rider [1]
This finding is of great interest for equestrian athletes and coaches, as it points to a greater importance of training muscular anticipation within the trunk stabilizers rather than overall muscle activation
Most authors agree that LBP is the most common chronic injury experienced by equestrian athletes [1,2,3,4,5], and it has been linked to poor postural control [6] and lack of balance, stability and alignment of the skeleton at the pelvic level [7]
Summary
Low back pain (LBP) in the equestrian athlete negatively impacts performance by acting as a distractor that alters the coordination dynamics of the horse and rider [1]. High volumes and repetitive motions have previously been correlated to the high prevalence rates of LBP in the athletic population [9]. This contradiction may be explained by the more harmonic riding technique of the advanced riders, and one could conclude that a very important factor influencing the prevalence of LBP in equestrian sports is the level of expertise, i.e., it is skill-dependent. Understanding the biomechanical differences between advanced and novice equestrianism is of major interest
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