Shock Attenuation and Electromyographic Activity of Advanced and Novice Equestrian Riders’ Trunk

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevailing affliction among recreational and professional horse riders. It lowers performance and distracts from the development of the athlete. A lower incidence of LBP has been observed in the professional riding population despite higher training volumes. This paper aims to describe neuromuscular mechanisms through which advanced and novice riders attenuate the shockwave generated between the horse and rider. Six novice riders (age 24 ± 7 years), nine advanced riders (age 31 ± 5 years) and four horses (age 15 ± 3 years) took part in this study. Surface electromyographic activity of the riders’ trunk was recorded along with inertial data from the horses’ leg, saddle and vertebrae of the riders at walk, trot and canter. Analyses of variances revealed a superior shock attenuating ability of the advanced group (F (1,38) > 5.023, p < 0.03) as well as a higher overall muscle tone (F (1,488) > 9.80, p < 0.02). Cross correlation analyses between shock attenuation and electromyographic activity showed that groups differ mostly in timing rather than the intensity of muscle activation. This finding is of great interest for equestrian athletes and coaches, as it points to a greater importance of training muscular anticipation within the trunk stabilizers rather than overall muscle activation.

The Effects of a Real-Time Visual Kinetic Feedback Intervention on Shock Attenuation of the Equestrian Rider's Trunk: A Pilot Study

“…Moreover, there was a statistically significant improvement in SA of the C7:S1 at trot and canter, and of the helmet:saddle SA at trot in the group that received the RKF compared to the control group. The smaller SA group differences observed in the helmet:saddle region support previous findings that showed that the gross amount of shock attenuation occurs in the thoracolumbar region of the rider's spine (Elmeua González and, 2021 ).…”

“…An all-purpose saddle was used. Saddle tilt and stirrup length were set neutral as described in (Elmeua González and, 2021 ). The bridle was mounted with a simple snaffle bit.…”

The Effect of Chiropractic Treatment on Limb Lameness and Concurrent Axial Skeleton Pain and Dysfunction in Horses

“…Many of the polo horses had chronic, multiple limb lameness; some of which had persisted for long periods of time with minimal treatment. It was expected that these horses had deeply ingrained compensatory lameness mechanisms [ 49 ] and concurrent axial skeleton pain and dysfunction due to strenuous athletic use during the competition season and inconsistent levels of equestrian skills among the collegiate riders [ 50 , 51 ]. This was supported by the higher baseline whole-body lameness scores in the polo horses (range 4.3 to 4.5), compared to the Quarter Horses (range 2.8 to 3.6).…”

The Physiological Requirements of and Nutritional Recommendations for Equestrian Riders

“…Postural demands of riding have been documented through electro-myography (EMG) and are further supported by measurements including hand grip or core strength [34,35], which may affect rein (tension) or postural control [28,36,37]. EMG data differentiate between levels of rider (elite vs. non-elite; [6,38]) with elite riders demonstrating greater ability to contract musculature actively, independently, and contralaterally [38,39]. This site-specific tonicity likely allows for greater postural control during riding but does not necessarily require greater muscular strength than other athletes or general popu-lation controls.…”

“…A recently published bibliometric analysis showed that equestrian sport is underrepresented in sport science literature [1]. Equestrian research tends to focus on rider performance, physiology, and injury rates, with four of the five top-cited equestrian publications at the time of writing focussing on injury prevalence or cases [2][3][4][5], with growing interest in rider position and function [6,7]. For these reasons, the terms equestrian and athlete refer to the human/rider and not equine/horse throughout this review (unless otherwise stated).…”