By Heather Benedict
I have been riding since I was eight years old, spending three decades focused on dressage. I am a USDF Bronze Medalist, a certified group fitness instructor, and someone who has always considered myself strong, active, and pretty in tune with how my body moves.
When I began having pelvic floor issues (urinary incontinence when laughing, coughing, sneezing, jumping rope), I assumed what many women do: I must be dealing with weakness or laxity. After all, I had had children, I was menopausal, and I had heard the message “Do your Kegels” for years to strengthen your pelvic floor.
While seeing a specialist to determine if I was a candidate for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) I mentioned I was experiencing some issues with urinary leakage. She mentioned that there was a physical therapist in the practice that specialized in pelvic floor therapy. My curiosity was piqued and I decided to have her schedule my initial appointment.
As for the HRT, this ended up not being an option for me due to a history of breast cancer in 2016. My cancer was estrogen/progesterone positive so adding in hormones now was not an option. Unfortunate, but not worth risking a reoccurrence. We did discuss non-hormonal options, so at least I left the appointment with a plan for therapy, and with some closure.
The first visit to the physical therapist was life changing. Yes, I am being dramatic. But when you deal with something for so long that you think is normal and find out it, in fact, is not, it can shake you.
Through an internal exam, she was able to tell me that my issues stemmed from an overly tight (hypertonic) pelvic floor. What? I thought this was weakness or laxity from pregnancy and delivery.
My issue was the complete opposite. My pelvic floor was not weak; it was overly tight and having difficulty releasing. My fundamental issues were urinary control, but I learned pelvic floor dysfunction may show up in other ways as well, such as pelvic pressure, pain with sitting, pain during or after sex, constipation, and tailbone pain. Isn’t it fun being a woman?
My treatment has focused on stretching and therapist-guided release. Rather than constantly asking the muscles to contract, I am learning to recognize when I am holding tension and how to release that tension. Stretches such as child’s pose, happy baby, world’s greatest stretch, 90/90, and butterfly are a few of the main ones, along with mindful breathing techniques are my homework, while internal release work is done in the office with my therapist. The combination of the two has significantly improved my symptoms. The end goal is for me to continue to stretch and learn appropriate release techniques I can use at home.
As a dressage rider, that raises an intriguing question: What happens to our biomechanics in the saddle when the muscles responsible for supporting and stabilizing do not know how to let go?
I had always thought it was impressive that my adductors were so strong from riding all these years. Well, that strength is good – to a point. You need strong legs for riding, but you also must learn to let go.
My new mare is so sensitive, and I was unintentionally affecting her expressive movement, especially in lateral work. This realization made me think differently about something else that I have heard periodically throughout my dressage career: “Make everything loose so the horse can move through you.”
My instructor has been emphasizing this in my lessons with my mare, working on not collapsing or becoming passive, but releasing unnecessary tension so that my body can follow her movement rather than interfering. The goal is to be a rider who is stable without being rigid, connected without gripping, and able to allow the horse’s movement to travel through the rider’s body.
Easier said than done. Every ride, the focus must be checking my legs and shoulders for tension, and then try to release that tension. At first, I rode without stirrups to let my legs hang loosely. I can tell you that my horse moved much more freely as a result. It was truly an “aha!” moment and I now try to replicate that feeling.
Relaxation in my shoulders is also important in the lateral work with my horse. One clinician kept telling me to be a “noodle” on the horse…everything loose and relaxed. I can tell you with certainty that my mare appreciated that instruction. Every ride now consists of me checking my body for tension. Add that to the list of a million things to do when we ride! It’s not easy, but when you get that feeling of complete freedom of movement and correctness with your horse, it makes it all worth it.
My advice to any female rider experiencing any of the issues I’ve described is to find a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor health. Riding dressage is difficult enough on its own. But when we add our own biomechanical issues, it becomes even more challenging. Addressing those issues isn’t just about feeling better in our own bodies, it can change how we ride and, ultimately, how our horses move. Your horse will thank you!
