By Wayne E. Rasmussen, MS, PT, ATC
Nichole Walters of Cadbury Farm has been teaching Dressage riders and training Dressage horses professionally for eleven years. When Nichole became injured in February of 2001, she sought out a physical therapist who treats riders, to rehabilitate her quickly and to return her to teaching and training. Nichole found Wayne Rasmussen, MS, PT, ATC, at HealthSouth of Edmonds, located within the Harbor Square Athletic Club.
In February, while Nichole was standing in the arena giving instructions to a student, she was kicked on her right thigh by the student's horse. The kick had such force that Nichole's femur was pushed up into her pelvis as she tumbled over backwards. Nichole immediately sought medical attention from her family physician. Nichole's family physician instructed Nichole to rest for two weeks and then to begin physical therapy with Wayne Rasmussen. During Nichole's rest period she sought out Melinda Guertin, a licensed massage practitioner, at HealthSouth of Everett. Melinda worked with Nichole to reduce the swelling of her injury by targeting her lymphatic system.
Nichole then began her physical therapy with Wayne Rasmussen. Wayne has over 30 years of experience treating patients. He has treated well over 250 riders in the past 11 years. Wayne has extensive training in Manual Therapy via the Ursa Foundation. Wayne uses his manual therapy skills, water therapy, and exercises to quickly restore function and return his patients to their daily activities.
Wayne recalls, " Nichole exhibited a pelvic ring dysfunction and a functional short left leg. She was kicked over the lateral part of her right hip, producing an inhibition of the Tensor Fascia Lata muscle and the Ilio Tibial Band. The pelvic ring dysfunction presented two alignment changes. The left side of Nichole's pelvis was rotated posterior and elevated. The elevation is called an 'Up Slip', where one seat bone was higher than the other."
Nichole's right hip injury, bruising, and muscular inhibition weakened and compromised her hip stability and endurance. This was most noticeable in Nichole's inability to maintain her upper body centered posture. Nichole had difficulty in her ability to initiate a right circle, leg-yielding, and half-pass drills. Nichole stressed, "It is important for a rider to be supple and symmetrical in order to feel when the hind leg of the horse lifts from the ground, in order to correctly time the aide to the horse."
Wayne's manual therapy skills were used to balance Nichole's pelvis and to equalize her leg length. The pelvic rotation, up slip, and sacral torsion responded well to muscle energy techniques. Muscle energy employs a very light contraction of specific muscle groups to influence a specific joint, be it the pubic symphasis or sacroiliac joint. The goal was to balance the gamma gain within a particular muscle group and reestablish the joint play for optimum motion.
Wayne then incorporated water therapy into Nichole's treatment plan. Harbor Square Athletic Club has a warm saltwater pool, which Wayne uses with many of his patients. Nichole rested upon two water Styrofoam "noodles" to create buoyancy in the 100ƒ water. The combination of buoyancy and warm water creates a sensory deprivation leading to myofascial release with gentle multi-directional motions used to loosen the spine. The program was transferred to Nichole's home spa.
Wayne equipped Nichole with a series of exercises and yoga stretching elements that will keep her pelvic ring in balance during riding. After 10 physical therapy visits, Nichole has returned to riding and teaching full forcebalanced and centered.
Nichole Walters can be reached at Cadbury Farm at (425) 335-4889. Wayne E. Rasmussen, MS, PT, ATC can be reached at HealthSouth of Edmonds at (425) 775-7960.