back. I just took a major throw from my horse onto some gravel. I was wearing my helmet, and took the fall on my right shoulder and hip. I’m in some substantial pain. Any suggestions?
StG
My mom did the same thing when she was 20. Only she went face first. They had to take sand paper like stuff and grind her cheeks wit it until all the gravel was out. You can still feel some of it…but no scars!!!
Aspirin is the miracle drug
take up to 1000grams or whatever its measured in.
I think you mean 1000 mg, tubagirl…1000 grams would be a couple pounds of the stuff.
About 2.2 pounds, in fact. Oh, all the silly metric converstions I know…
Aspirin is right on. I’m sure the anti-inflamatory properties are what you need about now…
Ouch! Are you just jolted and bruised (which is enough!) or do you have scrapes w/ gravel in them?
Aspririn is a great place to start. Hey, let the analgesics do their work. This sounds really stupid and quaint, but you may want to consider soaking in a lukewarm tub with Epsom salts.
When I ditched my bike as a kid, and gracefully skidded facedown on a gravel hill, my grandmother popped me into the Epsom salts bath. It soaked the grit and gunk out, and helped with the soreness. I don’t know if they even sell it anymore. But any kind of antiseptic soak should help.
If nothing else, it should help with the stiffness and soreness.
Wishing you all the best, kiddo! Hope you heal up quickly. I’ll be thinking about you.
Veb
ice
The second & third days are always the worse.
**pLt[/b} - I couldn’t remember if you were supposed to apply heat or ice to a muscle strain/sprain.
My horse is over 16 hh tall, which is 5’4" (at the withers) and he was bucking way up. It was a long and hard trip down. My lower back hurts with the muscle pain radiating up through my right arm & neck and down my right leg. I applied heat last night.
Veb - No gravel burns, fortunately. My left hand is ripped up a bit from the braided reins.
Thanks for the advice.
StG
Poop. Why couldn’t I have hit preview before submit?
You mentioned pain in the lower back radiating down the right leg. Is this pain radiating down the back of your leg or just where it came into contact with the ground on impact?
Also, have you had any periods of numbness or “pins and needles” in your extremities since the fall? Do you have any history of previous back pain or back injury as a result of a fall?
If you answered yes to any of these questions you need to seek some professional help. Do not go to a chiropractor! Go to your usual doctor (if you have one), tell him/her what happened, and ask for an assessment on whether you may have damaged something more than soft tissue.
DVous Means - The pain is when I move my hips, reach with my arm, or sometimes if I bend my neck. I think it’s just muscle strain, really. It’s funny - my leg from the knee down has no pain and doesn’t cause pain if I move it. So I can swing my knee, but stepping into my car is excrutiating.
StG