If you have Sacroiliac or SI joint pain, don’t make the mistake of focusing on only the area of pain in treatment, when what feeds the problem is much more than just the sacroiliac joint. In this blog, we will discuss the best treatment for SI joint pain, what you should avoid, and the best exercises to do to get you out of pain.
If you’re not sure if you have sacroiliac joint dysfunction or if the SI joint is what’s causing your pain I suggest you read my blog on that first, then come back to this one.
What Is The Best SI Joint Pain Treatment?
When it comes to all musculoskeletal problems, treatment should always depend on what the root cause of your problem is. In our clinic, we have found our extensive functional movement and postural neurology examination to be very effective in pinpointing exactly what that is. In utilizing Functional movement and Postural Neurology assessments we can map what parts of the brain are malfunctioning in regard to movement and posture and where the dysfunction lies.
Once we’ve mapped out what parts of the brain are strong and what’s lacking (that is Postural Neurology), we can see how the change in the map of movement (homunculus) has impacted the movement patterns and how functional/dysfunctional the movements have become. (that is Functional Movement). If the blueprint of movement changes back to how it was designed originally, then the dysfunctional movements that you are having now, start changing based on the improved blueprint.
On my website, I discuss why DNS (Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization) is the best choice of exercise to rehabilitate dysfunctional movement patterns into functional movement. You see, if movement was a concert, the brain would be the conductor, the map of movement (homunculus) would be the musical notes, and the body parts would be the musicians. To play a nice concert, the musicians not only have to know their instruments but to know when to chime in and phase out.
With Postural Neurology, we can map your blueprint of movement and with Functional movement assessment we can find out how functional/dysfunctional your movements are. Since all babies on the planet go through the same stages of development in the first 2-3 years of life, we know that we are programmed to move that way given that no babies get coached to move that way.
Using this method of examination, we can find out what is causing the sacroiliac joints to be painful and then correct the dysfunctional movements within the joint(s) so we remove the cause and the ‘feeders’ of the cause.
What to Avoid When With SI Joint Pain
If you’re having pain in your SI joint there are a few things you want to avoid in your day-to-day that can exacerbate the problem.
- Avoid hyper-extension: too much extension in the lumbar (lower back spine) can tilt the pelvis in a way that compresses the SI joint.
- Avoid standing on one leg: this simply takes away being balanced on both feet which cause tweaking of the pelvis- a big no-no for the SI joint.
- Avoid bending at the waist: you want to focus on keeping your spine neutral which is the least stressful position for the joints of the spine and pelvis. Practice hip hinging when getting up, sitting, and bending.
- Avoid sitting on a chair too much: that means not more than 45-50 min. Of course, you are able to sit for much longer but that comes with a price. I suggest sitting on an exercise ball and still getting up every 50-60 min.
Top 3 Exercises for SI Joint Pain
The best exercises for sacroiliac joint pain must include, not just stabilizing the SI joint, but core stabilization practiced in full-body functional movements. By the way, your core is not just the six-pack muscle! Your core is your entire torso including the muscles in the front, sides, and back of your trunk.
What most people don’t realize is that one of the key factors to stabilizing your core is your breathing, which most people are doing incorrectly. So before you even think about doing the exercises below make sure you watch this video first!
These are the 3 best we use for our patients with SI joint pain:
Pelvis bones (courtesy of https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/)
- Hip Mobility: The hip joint is very close in proximity to the SI joint (the joint between the sacrum and Ilium) and dysfunction in the hips will have an effect on the integrity of the whole pelvis including the SI joint.
- Quadruped: This is a Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization exercise and is something we all did around 7 months of age. This is how as babies, we developed the strength in the muscles of the torso to stabilize working together with the arms and legs.
- Bird/Dog: This exercise is an off-shoot of the quadruped and if you think you know this one and have done it before in a yoga class, make sure you apply these DNS principles in keeping a neutral spine.
Each of these exercises is demonstrated in the video below!
Don’t ignore what you may think is pain in the buttocks, or pelvic pain thinking it will go away on its own. If you suspect your SI joint is causing your pain and need to be assessed, contact me. Meanwhile, visit my Youtube Channel for educational information and more stabilizing exercises!
Dr.Shakib
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