Horse riding and LS - is there any hope?

Hello, I am a 48 year old woman who was diagnosed with LS four months ago, having been suffering with increasing symptoms for over a year.  I started menopause early, aged 43 and as a result of a routine blood test for this also discovered that I have an underactive thyroid so take levothyroxin daily.  I've been managing the LS reasonably successfully in terms of daily comfort and sex life but as you can tell from the title of this post, I am an equestrian and this is where my real problem lies at the moment.  I have two horses and until several months ago rode at least 6 times a week.  As my symptoms were progressing and before diagnosis I tried everything to relieve the pain - vaseline, feminine pads, gel filled saddle savers etc.  If I space my rides and only go for a light hack I'm fairly ok, but any serious riding and I'm wrecked afterwards.  I have just purchased some cycling shorts with what was described as a 'perineal relief' pad in the gusset area - hoping I could put these on just before riding and take them off again if they help.  I have also gone so far as talking to a saddler (male, so that was fairly embarrassing) about the possibility of using a gel pad with a hole in the middle on top of my saddle.  He is having a think, but there are lots of ergonomic issues with balancing on top of a horse which also have to be considered.   Does anyone else here manage to ride (or even cycle) successfully using remedial padding or accessories of any description or am I facing a life without horses?

2 likes, 74 replies