Getting healthy after horseback injury

[Lexicon]

Hey all, 

I took a bad fall on a rocky horseback riding trail on October 14th. Since then, I've been in a fair amount of pain - no major injury, I went to the hospital to check. Walking and getting up and down are painful since I hurt my lower back and right hip area. My problem is muscular but I'm a big baby when it comes to muscle pain and it radiates from the injury site to a degree. I went to the horse ranch to get energized and into a fit mindset but came home hobbling instead.

Does anyone have any exercise ideas to help with the pain and help work out the injury? I want be a little more active - I currently struggle to get 2,000 steps a day. (For reference, I typically got 3-4k steps a day at home before the injury and 9k-22k steps a day when I was at the horse ranch.)

Any help is appreciated, as long as it is constructive.

[WendyB]

Welcome to the forums!

You really need to talk to your DR. I'm surprised they have not set you up for Physical Therapy.

Please speak to your DR as you do not want to get injured more 

[awood08]

Exactly what @WendyB said, definitely get a check by a doctor to get the okay to work out. There could be something out of line that is causing the pain in your muscles. I had a knee injury back in high school and found out I had a injured ligament, that was causing calf muscle pain and I didn't even realize it was coming from my knee. I was oblivous that I was depending on my calf muscle and was overworking it.

[Lexicon]

My doctor's only response was, "do yoga or something." He isn't very helpful. The hospital told me to stay active as well and stretch. I think I'm past the "just stretch" phase but I've never had an injury like this before. No physical therapy has been suggested at any point.

[awood08]

I would get a second opinion with a different doctor. Honestly, if that's all they are offering that's ridiculous. Hospital doctors get you out of there stable, alive & breathing. Sounds like you aren't getting the quality care you need.

[Lexicon]

No, I'm not. But sadly I can't afford much, the hospital bills alone are exorbitant and my primary doctor just offers to refill prescriptions. That's exactly why I'm reaching out here to find out some PT exercises and ways to transition back to regular activity.

[IamRBrown]

Check around for a good chiropractor - be sure they are well rated since there are some quacks in that field as well.  You may not have any bone damage, but you may have knocked some stuff out of position & that will cause extended pain as your body tries to adjust.  If the hospital did xrays & didn't find any issues, a chiropractor might be able to get you moving again.  Realize that even that won't be instantaneous - it may take a few visits before you notice much improvement. 

Also use ice packs - if there is any swelling, that will help reduce it.