My Aching Knees
August 13, 2010
Help for a rider with painful knees after practicing with heel-down stirrups.
Question:
Are your stirrups causing you knee pain?
Has anyone ever heard of heel-down stirrups (a special stirrup you can buy for English saddles that is contoured to enforce proper foot positioning) causing or contributing to knee? problems in riders. I’m trying to figure out if the stirrups are causing me problems, or is it that I’m just getting longer in the tooth.? I can’t remember having this issue before I switched to heel downs. I’ve been riding them for six, maybe as long as 10 years.
Thank you.
Greg Gaston
Answer:
Greg,
Knees can take such a beating from riding, even if you aren’t ‘long in the tooth!’
Here is what is happening. Imagine yourself just standing — feet parallel, knees over feet, right below hips, and so on. This is considered neutral for the joints in your body. When you mount up, take notice in the change of your alignment. Your hips are open (abducted), the knee, slightly bent in flexion, is wrapped around your horse, and your ankles are hanging below your knees. Even though it seems like the knees are not that compromised, that “wrapped” feeling around the horse translates to stress around the joint. Now add to that the motion of posting. The knee cap is now tracking up and down to the posting rhythm, but since you are no longer in neutral, it is forced to take a different track that over time causes some wear and tear. If you place your hand on top of your knee while seated in a chair and ask for the leg to extend out you might feel, or even hear, some crunchiness in the joint. Condromalatia is the result of the patella (knee cap) forced out of neutral glide as the knee goes from flexion to extension.
So, Greg, it could be that the stirrups are contributing to the increased knee pain, but since I have never had an experience with them, I cannot say for sure. I would suggest going back to your old stirrups and doing a little experiment. Meanwhile, ice those knees just like you would do for your four-legged friend and get a little recovery time before you try your experiment.
Good Luck!
– Emily J. Harrington, CPT, Equestrienne Fitness Trainer
Got an equestrian fitness question for Emily? Comment below, and your question could be featured on this blog.
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11 Comments on “My Aching Knees”
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August 13th, 2010 at 11:44 am
When I ask my horse for the canter, she doesnt go directly into it; so I have to sit the trot for a while until she finally does. But I always end up in 2-point position by the time she changes her gait. What are some ways I could strengthen my legs so I can sit her rough, fast, and bouncy trot while asking for the canter?
Thanks.
August 13th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Katie – a great way to strengthen your legs to help you sit ANYTHING is to practice bareback or without stirrups. Bareback is going to be more helpful, but riding without stirrups for a while will help you gain confidence to ride bareback if you’ve never done it before. Posting without stirrups will hurt, but it’s also a great excersize to improve leg strenth and balance. You may already know this, but just in case you don’t, it’s also important that you aren’t trying to grip with your calves as you ride without stirrups or bareback. You really want to be trying to “grip with your butt” as I imagine it… If I imagine myself gripping the saddle (Or the horses back) with my butt, it makes your abdominals and thigh muscles grip the horse properly. As always, be really careful, don’t rush yourself, and wear a helmet! Hope that helps, I’ve never known anyone that wasn’t helped by it.
August 13th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Thanks Lexi! Next time I go ride, I will work on it! Bareback is easy for me but she always go slow but im definately going to work bareback and stirrup-less and post!
Thanks!
August 13th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Good response to the question. I actually had knee problems that apparently were related to a saddle that I bought with a good bit of padding/knee rolls. It was lovely, expensive and very painful to ride in! I sold it to a colleague who loved it and purchased one with no padding and minimal material under the knees. That was sufficient to solve my problem. I use Herm Sprenger flex irons which likely help too.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:41 am
I am guessing that the original poster of the knee question is using the flex stirrups, but there are two different kinds. One is the stirrups that hinge across the iron, and ones that have a hinge in the foot. I have ridden in the ones that hinge in the foot, and I did not feel stable at all because those (while they may put your heel down) force your knees and ankles to carry all your weight. I have some major knee problems (two surgeries and several torn ligaments), and I use the flex stirrups that hinge in the middle of the iron, and those move with you as you post, etc, but don’t compromise your position since they move with your motion. I have had alot of knee pain relief since I started using those. I know George Morris hates them, but I sure don’t!
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January 1st, 2011 at 4:44 pm
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January 13th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
hi im new at the horse back riding thing so i dont know much about quarter horses and i would like to learn more but i havent been able to find any reliable sites that say much about the breed. I have a quarter horse and i wanna know what makes him most comfortable when riding etc. if anyone has any tips id like to know.
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January 14th, 2011 at 8:10 am
Destany, you’ve come to the right place. Be sure to sign up for our free e-newsletters and download some of our free reports. Plus use the search tool to find all kinds of great stories. If you find that you have specific horse-related questions, such as training, showing, horse health, etc., let us know via the comments and we’ll find an expert to help you.
Happy riding!
Jody Reynolds
AQHA