@pacer3702 That's a good question about MFR. The physical therapist who wrote the article seems to be more of a traditional PT, so I don't think he completely understands MFR. If you try MFR once and stop, there wouldn't be much benefit. There are many layers of fascia to work through, so it may take weeks or months depending on how bad it is, but you need to keep it moving. I do a lot of stretching at home to maintain what I have gained.

Think of it this way. Remember when you were a kid and were much more flexible? Everything in your body moved and you were probably more active running around outside. Then we get older and sit too much and stop moving a lot. If you have an injury, the body tightens up. Even habits like always sleeping in the same position can lead to restrictions and we develop a pattern and can't move like we used to do. Stress adds tightness to our bodies, and surgery creates scar tissue not just on the skin, but in the fascial layers. When fascia stops moving, our bodies get stiff and we don't move as well. We can loose proper alignment of the spine, shoulders and pelvis. The small spaces where nerves and blood vessels pass between muscles can get pulled and compressed by tight fascia. That is what happens to me with compression points between the rib cage and collar bone for nerves that go to my arm because of thoracic outlet syndrome. Bones will go where they are pulled by muscles and tight fascia. In my case, I have tightness in the front of my neck and chest from thoracic outlet syndrome which really extends from my jaw down through my neck, rib cage and to my pelvis. Because that is too tight, it pulls the left Illium bone (hip bone) forward or inflared toward the center of my body. I have muscles in the low back that connect the spine to the pelvis that should be holding it on place, but those might be weaker from sitting too much, so the tight muscles on the front of my body win the fight and the hip bone moves forward and out of alignment and the joints are allowing the movement. Those muscles in the low back complain because they are being stretched and beat up. So the answer would be to release the fascial and muscle tightness in front, and strengthen the back to keep the pelvis aligned as it should be. Having a wider pelvis as a woman, makes it easier to twist out of shape because it is designed to be able to expand a bit for childbirth. That is a simple explanation and there are other muscles involved too, but they work in opposition to muscles that act on the other side of the bone where they attach.

Walking is great exercise for the back and pelvis and riding a horse at a walk does the same movement, but with a larger motion. In therapy this is used for patients who cannot walk to try to strengthen muscles they would need for walking and core strength. Waking a horse does not cause the rider to bounce, but you have to counter the motion with flexibility in the back. It is the same thing you do when you walk, but I think you get more effort and exercise onboard the horse if you are doing it right with good posture. You would have to try it to see if you think it helps. I think it may get things moving better because of bigger movements than walking on your own and you don't have the pressure of the footfall jamming your leg upward into the pelvis. I sometimes get an upslip like that where one leg becomes "shorter". My therapist will pull on my leg as I lay on the table. Think about what you do with really vigorous walking with big steps at a faster pace. That is similar to being on a horse, but you don't have to contend with numbness of your foot and worrying about if it will give out when you step on it.

I used to have physical therapy 2 or 3 times a week at the beginning and I do it once a week now. I have been doing PT for several years because of the TOS which is a hard problem to correct, and horse back riding does a lot to help because I have much better posture and core strength.. I think that waiting 3 weeks for a next PT appointment is too long because the pelvis can revert back to old habits too quickly. You might ask your PT if more frequent sessions would be more beneficial if your insurance covers it. If walking really helps I would keep doing it, but also remember to stretch and ask your PT the best ways to do that.

Here is something else you could ask your PT about. This can align the sacrum is if goes out just by laying on it. My pelvis can push the sacrum out too and this has helped me. https://www.sacrowedgy.com/store/

Thank you for your comments about the portrait of my surgeon. I really enjoyed painting that for him, and it was a big test for me as I was recovering because I needed to prove to myself that I could regain the coordination I had lost because of the spine problem. His surgery gave me back that ability and I could not think of a better way to express my gratitude.

Did you have any more thoughts about horse therapy? It may add a benefit to what your physical therapist is doing for you.