Pain-Free Horse Riding: An Illustrated Guide to Prevention, Self-Care, and Injury Management for Riders of All Abilities

Discover why you have pain and tension, learn how they affect your horse and riding, and master techniques for treating and preventing pain and injury in the future.

Pain-Free Horse Riding is the first book to combine exercises for horseback riders to increase strength and flexibility and improve riding and address the pain they suffer from and how to relieve it. Horse rider and Myofascial Release therapist Nikki Robinson offers realistic ways to improve common conditions--back and neck pain, tendonitis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, joint pain and stiffness, and repetitive strain injury--without giving up the activity you love. The book provides an introduction to fascia, covers how your body reacts to injury, and addresses common symptoms such as pain, tension, and inflammation. A key chapter focuses specifically on riding posture--the position of your head, shoulders, back, buttocks, and legs--including exercises to solve your riding problems with myofascial techniques. Also included are personal stories from riders who have had success with these methods. The format of the book allows readers to start at the beginning and read all the way through or to go straight to the sections that address their particular condition. There are cross-references throughout to direct readers where to find additional information if they are interested.

NIKKI ROBINSON is an experienced horse owner, rider, and physical therapist. She qualified as a Physiotherapist (physical therapist) from the Queen Elizabeth School of Physiotherapy, Birmingham, in 1993 and founded her award-winning Myofascial Release practice, Holisticare, in 2006. Robinson has specialized in Myofascial Release treatment since 2006 and trained in this technique in the UK, and in the US with John Barnes, the physical therapist who developed Myofascial Release more than 40 years ago. She is now one of the top Myofascial Release physiotherapists in Europe.