I have come up with a new phrase, which is ‘Quality then Quantity’. This is partly a reflection of my whole training ethos, but also because I have manged to injure myself by NOT following this advice!

So what have I done?

Through a combination of an increase in Pilates teaching, doing said teaching on a slightly slippery carpet, and spending a lot more time in flip flops….I have managed to massively inflame the tendons on the outside of my right foot.

On paper, doing 1 extra Pilates class a week should be fine – I’ve taught 5 in a week before, but the surface has made a huge difference. I also have been doing 3 in a row on one day, which is not something I have done before. BUT, the biggest single factor has been that I have increased the emphasis of my teaching on balance and control work in standing.

Oh and because the weather has been good, and the evenings longer, I have been outside filming YouTube and Facebook videos.

So what started with a twinge a couple of weeks ago during Pilates, ended up as a very swollen, red and painful outside of my right foot. I am fairly certain that I ‘strained’ the tendon of a muscle called the Peroneus Brevis; this little muscle helps to point the toes and turn the foot out, so of course has been used a lot recently.

It’s been a while since I’ve hurt that much, but fortunately this time my professional knowledge helped me out and although I had to carry on working on it initially, once I ONLY wore the right shoes, medicated regularly and kept the foot up all evening……it started to improve. It’s not totally gone yet but I can deal with it!

Why am I telling you this? Well I want you to know that I am going through exactly the same trials and tribulations as you are. Just because I am a Physio, and I’ve trained a horse to a high level of dressage, doesn’t mean I am immune to upsets along the way. By sharing my good and bad times I hope I can help you avoid the same pitfalls.

Also, remember the injury blog I did a few months ago? Well, initially when I rode the foot was OK, and when it was at it’s worst I didn’t ride due to work anyway. But once I was back in the saddle and thinking I was good to go with riding, I had a nasty shock. The mobility of the foot/stirrup took me by surprise. Without foot pain I have never really appreciate just how much this whole area moves – I know, the probably sounds crazy, but think what it’s like when you have a sore throat; you KNOW you have a throat, but when you don’t have a sore throat you don’t ever notice your throat. So having ridden since I was tiny, the multitude of small movements that happen at the foot are now imperceptible to me most of the time. Add in foot pain however, and it was a very different story. Every time my foot and stirrup moved slightly I felt it, and they move fractionally all the time I discovered. Trying to turn my leg slightly to give a kick when the mare backed off hurt like crazy. And putting my ‘leg on’ was almost impossible – so much so that my attempts at leg aids resulted in all sorts of unwanted responses, to the point that I gave up and just hoped that the next day would be better because I really wanted to school her! (thankfully it was)

All in all this has been a huge learning curve and reminder about just how important it is to not ride when we are injured. My ‘problem’ was really very minor, if incredibly painful whilst it lasted, and yet I completely confused my horse. I also have no doubt that if anything untoward had happened, I would have had nothing like enough control, balance or strength to deal with the situation; I was not actually that safe.

Just in case you missed the message last time then – best not to ride if you are injured if at all possible!

Take care,

Louise

PS – I know my leg in the photo at the top is a little far forward. The saddle is very overdue a check up and has got tight in front, so tipping me slightly back. Unfortunately, our saddle fitter, like everyone else, has been off work for the best part of 2 months……