Have you ever felt pain in your lower back, maybe a little off to one side? It could be coming from your Sacroilliac joint, or SI joint. I’m writing this post because I have the SI joint on my mind! I am currently pregnant, and boy am I feeling an uptick in my own SI pain. It’s super common during pregnancy because as your ligaments relax, you lose some stability in the SI joint. But pregnant or not, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some tips for anyone who has had pain here!
What is the SI joint?
The SI joint is where the pelvis meets the tailbone, and it is a bit of an irregular shaped joint with some jagged edges. There is a lot of controversy about whether there is actually movement that occurs at this joint, but coming from someone who has felt the pain, I’m on the side that it does indeed move! The movement that occurs there is very minimal, but none-the-less still required for normal mechanics.
There are a few reasons why you might experience pain here:
Too little movement at the joint
Too much movement at the joint
Muscle spasm or tightness
Muscle weakness and poor stability
Incorrect movement patterns
History of low back pain that may have resulted in movement compensations
How to address it:
First and foremost, you need to determine why you have pain in this area. That starts with a trip to your local Physical Therapist so they can help determine the cause. Once you know if it’s more of a mobility or stability issue, you will be prescribed exercises to address your individual problem.
Today, I’m focusing on the stabilization side of things (so listen up all my moms and mama to be’s) with this quick and easy exercise sequence. I love that this doesn’t require any equipment and takes very little time, so that it can be done on a daily basis to help keep SI joint pain in check. Not only are these exercises I give to my patients, but I also do them daily and can vouch that it really does work! Since being pregnant, this short 5 minute sequence has completely helped keep my pain almost non-existent.
Before I dive in to the stability sequence, check out this video for a short recap on Abdominal Bracing. This is the foundation for doing these exercises properly, so don’t skip this part!
Now onto the fun stuff...
And for a little bonus, this is one of my all time favorites!
I can’t stress enough that everyone has pain in the SI joint for different reasons. It is really important for you to be properly evaluated by a Physical Therapist so they are able to determine the root cause of your pain. Once you know this, you can much more effectively treat the source!
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