Buck Brannaman stretching. | Photo courtesy of Buckthefilm.com

In the documentary “Buck” we get to watch the title’s star, horseman Buck Brannaman, as he prepares to start his job as a horse trainer.

Among all the ordinary things he does—drinking coffee, grooming his horse, tacking up—Buck does something that actually caused some of the audience where I was sitting to murmur in appreciation: he swung his foot onto a tall fence railing and, leg straight, stretched his hamstring like a cowboy version of a ballerina warming up to dance.

It was a pretty good maneuver for a man who is well over 40. Those of us in that age range can appreciate how those muscles just don’t want to cooperate like they did when we were, say, 20.

Even as I write this, my hamstrings are complaining because I took advantage of some time off to do some riding—a lot of extra riding—and now I’m paying for it. And I consider myself to be in reasonably good shape, but my whiny legs let me know on every stair step of the double flight up to our office that I overdid it.

If you’ve ever been uncomfortable—or miserable—after an overly ambitious ride, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

And I’ve been here before, only with another sport—running—so I already know what the solution is. I learned it the hard way.

It all started when I got a cramp at the top of my left hamstring during a run—in a very localized spot, about the size of a softball, just at the top of my leg. Eventually I had to stop running, a situation that creates in me a persona similar to an angry bear who is awakened early out of hibernation. You get the picture.

So off to the doctor I went, where I was told that I had scar tissue from what was likely an old tear and that my hamstring had finally developed something called “high hamstring tendinopathy,” a repetitive use injury caused by not allowing the hamstrings to heal. I could have a cortisone shot to relax it and break up the scar tissue, and I could run again.

Oh happy day! I hate shots (allergy shots I got as a child created in me an aversion to needles) but I happily took this one. It did relax my hamstring, the pain went away and I was able to run again. For a time.

Then the pain came back, and off to the doctor I went for cortisone shot number two.

If you’ve guessed how this turned out…you’re right. The pain came back. The cortisone shots had worked for a time to mask the symptom, but they weren’t the answer.

So off I limped to a sports doctor in Denver, John Hill, himself a distance runner.

I wanted an easy solution. I wanted cortisone shot number three. I was over 40, in pain, and just wanted to be able to run again.

And what was Dr. Hills’ answer? No shot. Work harder.

To prove his point, Dr. Hill had me lie on my side on the examining table, prop myself up on my elbow and forearm, and lift my hips off the table—in other words, do a plank.

So I did a plank. “Now hold yourself in that position, and lift your top leg straight up in a leg lift,” he instructed.

I managed to do three of these before I flopped back down on the table like a fish out of water.

My diagnosis? Weak hips. Weaker than my hamstrings, anyway, which were having to do all the work when I ran and the overcompensation was resulting in injury.

What’s this have to do with horse riding, you ask?

Well, I found that after I built up my hip strength and my flexibility—eventually building up to 90 of those tortuous plank left lifts, a few times a week, plus more stretching per Dr. Hill’s instructions—I never again got another hamstring injury.

In other words, I worked harder. So if you don’t ride very often, and then go and overdo it like I did, your muscles will become inflamed—possibly from tiny tears—and sore. Ice can help for the first few days, and then heat. Massages, too. But that only treats the symptoms.

Trust me on this one: You have to let those muscles heal. And once they do, then you have to gradually build up to working them harder, which means, ride more.

There are also some basic instructions about stretching from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons I thought I’d pass along from theirwebsite:

Flexibility Exercises

Stretching is too often neglected by exercisers pressed to fit workouts into their busy schedules. This common mistake can reduce the effectiveness of exercise because better flexibility results in better fitness.

By increasing your flexibility you can improve your ability to move around. You will have less muscle tension and your posture will likely improve. Most importantly, stretching after each workout reduces your risk for injury.

Get the most out of your flexibility training by following these simple guidelines:

• Always warm up before your stretch. Stretching cold muscles can cause injury
• Stretch slowly and gently. Breathe into your stretch to avoid muscle tension.

Relax and hold each stretch 10 to 30 seconds

• Do not bounce your stretches. Ballistic (bouncy) stretching can cause injury

Stretching should not hurt. If you feel pain, take the stretch easier, breathe deeply and relax into it.

-And a final note from me: Keep in mind there’s a difference between “Oh I overdid it” muscle soreness, and, “ ‘Danger, danger, Will Robinson,’ this is a warning from your body” kind of pain.

In the book, “Rider & Horse Back to Back,” authors Suzanne von Dietze and Isabelle von Neumann-Cosel refer to this as “protecting pain,” and note that it’s helpful in stopping you from overstraining. “You should always look at pain as a warning and respect it,” the book says, and I couldn’t agree more.

I hope you stay healthy and find the time for plenty of riding so that you’re never sore!

Enjoy your horse,

Amy