sacroiliac joint dysfuction

**bornincolorado** · 11-29-2011, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by splat

They'll cover it if you get a doctor to prescribe it.
Or you could just drop $100 for a visit and be done with it.

would you see an 'associate member' or just a 'practitioner'?

the closest practitioner is an hour away.

Spook, sorry to hear about your issues, i've been in the chronic pain boat since about 05 but with some extended periods without pain. I haven't been to a chiropractor yet, only 2 orthopedic surgeons with Denver-vail orthopedics and my PT with Denver physical therapy.

**Elkhound Odin** · 11-29-2011, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by splat

They'll cover it if you get a doctor to prescribe it.
Or you could just drop $100 for a visit and be done with it.

The Blue Cross plan does not require a script/referal for PT. It comes down to whether they cover the treatment, or if the provider is a BC member.

oh, and EVC is a penny pincher (he calls it frugal

) and will pay out of pocket as last resort.

**splat** · 11-30-2011, 12:15 AM

Originally Posted by EVC_CO

would you see an 'associate member' or just a 'practitioner'?

the closest practitioner is an hour away.

Spook, sorry to hear about your issues, i've been in the chronic pain boat since about 05 but with some extended periods without pain. I haven't been to a chiropractor yet, only 2 orthopedic surgeons with Denver-vail orthopedics and my PT with Denver physical therapy.

Go to a practitioner, see if you can find someone who is an instructor.
Call around and ask who is the best. Some people are better than others and really have 'the touch'.

**DoWork** · 11-30-2011, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by thebigeast

so i have had low and mid back pain for some time now,that sometimes radiates into my hips and butt, no real health insurance just accident insurance so i hvn't been to a doc. From talking to people and my own research on the interweb, it sounds like i have some issues with my SI joint. I did a search i couldn't find a thing on SI joint dysfunction, yet everyone i talk to about it says its a very common thing and really isn't serrious. May not be too serrious or debillitating but the pain can be very annoying at times and i don't want to go through ski season like this. Any one else had issues with the SI joint, any suggestions, chiro, pt, ect...

I have trouble with my SI joints. Actually screwed it up a few weeks ago and have been stalling on going to the chiro but have to call and see about tomorrow. Have had problems for years and dicked around with doctors and specialists who just wanted to Rx me pills and nothing did anything. Finally sacked up and went to a chiro and holy shit man, talk about flipping a switch. One pop and I was brand new. Once you get adjusted a few times you can usually just do it yourself lying in bed, stretching etc. Only when I do something to really screw it up does too much tension build up to self-alleviate it and I need to go back for another session.

Once you've got your pain under wraps, I'd start doing major core exercises. Abs, back, hip lexors, all that jazz. Me being lazy in the off season has probably lead to the resurgence of the pain, so I've got to get back on the horse for this season so to speak.

Best of luck, nobody ever wants to deal with back pain. Ugh, the worst.

**Toadman** · 11-30-2011, 12:03 PM

I'm curious as to what type of leg strength training exercises everyone does, who has SI joint issues. I no longer do barbell squats, which is how I originally injured my SI. The PT facility I used to go to for rehab, had a few really cool machines for strength training of quads and glutes but I just don't have the kind of dough that I can shell out on a regular basis to go their exercise facility.

Some of the exercises my PT gave me was a bosu ball and one legged lunges, or lunges with the top of one foot resting on a bench. Also, wall Squats, and weighted lunges with dumbells. Other than that, I really don't do any other strength type exercises for the legs, so just looking for suggestions to vary the routine.

I also do bench step ups with kettle bells or dumbells. But those start out real slow and with no weights as I really need my core in shape or I can feel my SI during the early season.

**kingdom-tele** · 12-02-2011, 06:30 AM

with regard to SI joint shearing any strengthening should be done once your in a more normal alignment otherwise you are reinforcing the pattern and malalignment. assuming normal alignment is acheived, hip rotator strengthening, especially internal rotator and adductor groups which help to pull the two pelvic bones together, then abductor/trunk stability synergy work, then extensor/flexor balancing. as with anything, careful to notice how your pelvis and lumbar spine are also moving when you perform any of the motions, you can then choose to perform the motion with pelvic stabilty or with integration of the spine and pelvis, start lying on the floor to get acqainted with the influences, then move to standing, then move to more dynamic(bosu, bongo boards, skateboards, etc)

2 types of leg/pelvis mobility to consider:

1.the femur rolling under the pelvis (this will be lying down or sitting with feet free from the floor)
2. the pelvis rolling over the femur (think standing weight shift, standing rotation, single leg stand pelvic motion)

its always better to have someone assess you, a large number of symptomatic joints are related to the immobility of the opposite side, the more you strengthen a hypomobile joint the more your f'in yourself.

good luck

**bornincolorado** · 12-08-2011, 09:19 AM

Turns out my pain is most likely coming from my L5-S1 Facet joints, I received a steroid injection to that joint yesterday and keeping my fingers crossed that the pain will decrease soon.

**XXX-er** · 12-08-2011, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Toadman

I'm curious as to what type of leg strength training exercises everyone does, who has SI joint issues.

for a stretch warrior pose with the leg of the offending hip out behind you ,drive the hip forward will help alot, my chiro will have me sit on the side of the bench with one ass cheep supported and drop the leg of the offending hip down ... same thing more or less as warrior pose motion

**bornincolorado** · 12-12-2011, 09:45 AM

update: the injections were a success, the dysfunction was in fact L5-S1 facet joint and not SI. They are right next to each other so it's an easy misdiagnosis.

**Toadman** · 12-14-2011, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by XXX-er

for a stretch warrior pose with the leg of the offending hip out behind you ,drive the hip forward will help alot, my chiro will have me sit on the side of the bench with one ass cheep supported and drop the leg of the offending hip down ... same thing more or less as warrior pose motion

I actually had been given those techniques by my PT several years ago, but had forgotten about them until I did a bit of research on line. In fact, I dropped everything I was doing, and went and did exactly that, and the minor pain/discomfort went away completely. I now do that along with a few other stretches, that I had been neglecting, along with dusting off a resistance stretch band and really working those smaller core muscles. The one exercise that helps me the most is to just simply lie on my back and push against my knee as I try and drive it toward my head.

**Vinman** · 12-14-2011, 05:28 PM

Isometric hip flexion (hand resisting knee towards head while lying on your back) is a good exercise to try to reset a posterior SI sublux. If you have an anterior sublux it won't do you much good.

Fighting gravity on a daily basis

**kingdom-tele** · 12-15-2011, 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by Vinman

Isometric hip flexion (hand resisting knee towards head while lying on your back) is a good exercise to try to reset a posterior SI sublux. If you have an anterior sublux it won't do you much good.

Fighting gravity on a daily basis

exactly. which is why what works for some may not work for others and potentially cause more joint stress. pardon the poor simile, your pelvis is like a dish towel you can twist in opposite directions, you need to know which way to spin the towel to untwist it. while it is certainly plausible to have a specific L5/S1 facet dysfunction, it is still worth while to make sure your alignment is returned to a more normal position, the positioning of the pelvic bones dictates the orientation of the sacrum, what sits on top of the sacrum? the injections alleviate the joint irritation but, if it ends up a temporary relief its worth getting looked at in addition to a second injection.

as an aside: predominately it will be the R pelvic bone that rotates, there are a few different theories as to why, it doesn't matter here, addressing the short/tight hip flexor muscle on this side by making them tighter can often be counterproductive ( oddly enough though, if you can shorten it for a duration it does help to reset and lower the muscle tone = pelvic re alignment)

there are so many contrary processes that can improve your alignment and muscle balance , if your not having success on your own it helps to have some guidance to sort out which ones may the best option for your situation

good luck

**Dantheman** · 11-15-2018, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Jim S

3. I have found that independent leg exercises exaccerbate my symptoms. So one-legged leg extensions and curls, one legged squats, lunges, single leg plyometric are on my avoid list for the most part. That sucks because they are great excercises but they usually lead me to seak out the nearest smack dealer.

Fuck. Had some back issues last week that I'm pretty sure are SI-related, and it happened doing single-leg squats. SLS and other one-legged moves are some of my favorite exercises. Though, reverse lunges seem to make it feel better. I'm generally anti-chiro, but if Vinman said go see one for this I think that might be the call.

Anyone have any long-term follow-up to share?

**Lee Murian** · 11-15-2018, 02:49 PM

Wow, good timing on the thread bump. I was diagnosed by my PT with SI imbalance and have had chronic low level pain since the initial flare up last March. I finally found relief from serious, dedicated stretching of the entire hip girdle; quads, hammies, hip flexors, and glutes. But the icing on the cake was Pilates minimum twice a week (3 and 4X even better) and being very careful to avoid the activities which irritate it (duh!) like squats if not done properly. Not saying that's you Dantheman, but I was not keeping my pelvis neutral when squatting. Light weight, proper form, and reducing ROM helped as well.

Surprised I haven't seen Pilates mentioned here because it has been the best recovery and rehab I've ever experienced (serious core work) and classes have some great scenery. I think the best for my situation was the core work which helped stabilize my hip and helped the hip flexors work less. I've become a total Pilates advocate (thanks to my wife) who had a similar experience. She was so impressed that she completed the intensive teacher training and is a certified instructor and we bought a home reformer. After surfing all week mixed with Pilates and stretching have brought the most relief I've had all year just today. I was getting depressed and worried my ski season would be affected but am finally feeling hopeful.

I ski BC probably 90% of the time, started on non free pivot tele bindings BITD which i think contributed to my problems. Guiding for years with an expedition pack didn't help either, but switched to AT and not carrying a pack more than 30 pounds should help..