Sacroiliac joint pain

[Monstermasher]

I've been suffering with this for a few months now. Been seeing the osteopath who helps a lot but I get confused about what is helpful/harmful. I had been doing some yoga twists as it felt good to stretch out my pelvis but the osteopath says its making things worse. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for exercises.

Also I may need steroid injections in the joint and interested if anyone else had experience of this?

Lastly, I'm confused why this has suddenly developed. Google suggests it's usually caused by accident or injury but I have no idea why mine started, just that I feel its now started to ruin my life!

Have you been experimenting with your caffeine intake? I drink a lot of coffee and if I reduce it, it gets extremely painful.

I sometimes get problems with these joints and the one thing I’ve found that helps is Pilates, lots of stretching but also building up my core

Yes I had chronic back pain for nearly 2 years from SI joint.

I had two lots of steroid injections. Not sure what made it get better in the end... but slowly started to improve after the second injection. I was also taking a lot of naproxen for a long time to keep the inflammation down... tried a lot of painkillers before that which didnt touch it.

Re exercises I struggled as all advice frpm physios was dont do anything that caused pain... at a time when any movement caused pain... Any thing that involved bending at the back was awful... couldn't lean over sink to brush teeth or get dressed/tie shoes.
the exercises I was given were all core strength work

The back specialist I saw explained you can get stuck in an inflammation/stiffness cycle with SI joint... inflammation causes pain so you move less which causes stiffness which causes more pain.. and the steroid Injection aimed to try and break that cycle.

Good luck OP... you have all my sympathy as back pain was just the worst.

if it helps.. this was 4 years ago and since resolved I have been fine and no flare ups even though pregnancy.

I have the same and I sympathise with you. I definitely find that anything that twists my back can really set it off. But I do need to stretch my glutes and hamstrings as they really seize up.

I’m slightly hyper mobile and that’s why mine started - I had no problem at all with it until I started running, which was baaaaaad. I really need to do Pilates and have never got round to it.

However, I can highly recommend a support belt - I use it when mine begins to twinge and it really stops it from developing into a bad flare up.

sorry should also say I had no idea where it came from, I was fit and healthy at the time and regularly exercising. it just started small and got worse and worse over time.

Yes I bought a belt and it really helps to relieved the pain but not sure if it is helping or hindering in the long run...

I haven't been taking anti-inflammatories but intend to start tonight. I generally don't like taking medication but think I really need to this time.

In terms of caffeine, I don't drink it as I have tachycardia. Not sure how there could be a link with SI pain?

Nor me, but I found an article on line about it when I gave up caffeine and was in agony. Something to do with relaxing of the ligaments iirc.

I had this a few years ago and had a few sessions with an excellent chiropractor. He advised me to do the following exercises:

-Lie on back and pull one knee into chest feeling the stretch for 10 seconds, leg back to floor. Repeat x10. Repeat with other knee x10. Pull both knees in at same time, repeat x 10.

Just doing this daily, sometimes twice daily over several weeks seemed to make a big difference.

He also recommended going on all fours and arching lower back up like a cat arching its back, then bringing your lower back down so its flat (so you stick your bottom out, but still on all fours). Repeat x 10.

I think he said the exercises to avoid are the ones that would open the hips out wide.

Try Googling Don Tigny, there's videos on utube showing you how to realign it/put it back in place, I was in agony with it few years back and after doing it it instantly gave some relief. Took about a week for the inflammation with ibruphren to go down but now as soon as I feel a twinge I do it and it keeps the worst at bay. I think mine initially started after first baby, I hurt back pulling big pram up front steps of terrace house whilst the ligaments were still soft from pregnancy and decades later patient handling at work exacerbates it and any action that causes twisting such as hoovering or cleaning windows.
Basically you lie on your back, bring affected side knee to chin, take the knee out to the side then bridge on that side whilst other leg stays flat. Worth a try👍

Look up axial spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

I had pain in SI joints and bum area as well as stiffness for years. I also have peripheral involvement now.

It's an immune Mediated chronic progressive arthritis.

Treatments are anti inflammatory meds or immunosuppressive therapy.

Women are woefully under diagnosed!

Look up more info on Versus Arthritis and print out info and take to GP.

I found dietary manipulation helpful. Gluten free gives me relief.

Yes! I found rapidly reducing my dairy intake helped enormously as my body holds onto inflammation. At one point I was seeing my chiro 2x a week.

Turmeric tablets also seem to help. I have 1000mg ones

@thesootherfairy do you know if ankylosing spondylitis can be triggered by an injury?

I’ve had this off and on for a few years, it got much worse about a year after having a baby. I saw a brilliant osteo who gave me a bunch of exercises and it pretty much went away by doing them every day. I’ve been slacking recently and it’s much worse!

The main one is pigeon, I huffed and puffed by my way to 30 seconds each side at first, my right side is much much worse. It got easier and I built up by 10 seconds a day then settled on 2 minutes either side a couple of times a day and it really sorted it. Also doing knee circles - lie on my back, knees up, circles in and out 10 either side. There are a couple of others but those made the most difference.

If I could afford it I’d see my osteo every fortnight or month but I can’t and regular work at home has been miraculous - if I stick at it! She said to find the pain then really push into as it’s all so tight and it needs loosening any way I can. I’ve got a shoulder issue too which needs opposite handling, find the pain and avoid like mad.

I had no idea there was a dietary aspect to SI joint pain so going to have a proper read of the other replies.

@Susu49 it's autoimmune disease I don't think injury can trigger it but I am not sure as stress or other illness can trigger it. Sorry.

nass.co.uk
Here. More info

@thesootherfairy thanks, food for thought

There's are people recommending pigeon pose for it and others saying positions that open the hips make it worse... maybe best to see a physio, they are trained from a medical perspective as opposed to osteopaths who are not

I’ve got sacroiliac joint problems. Mine are due to pregnancy 26 years ago. I’ve had both fused, a lot of steroid injections and radio frequency ablation to both sides. I’m waiting on the left side being done again as the nerves grow back.

I’d recommend being referred to the hospital. You need some imaging done, preferably an MRI, to show up if there’s any inflammation or changes in the joints and pelvis. Not many doctors, surgeons, or physios are really knowledgeable on sacroiliac joint problems IME so you need to be quite careful.

There’s a couple of groups on Facebook where people share experiences and recommend specialists. This one is helpful.

@GeorgiePorge what exercises helped

@@GeorgiePorge did the steroids help or PT

hi @Deedoo the cortico-steriod injections that I had definitely helped. That alongside naproxen over several months brought the inflammation down so that I could start strength building.

Things like hip bridges and any core strength exercises really helped in the long run.

when I was at my worst I couldn't do any exercise and basic movement was pretty rough (I couldn't bend at all) so for me I needed something to break the cycle of inflammation and immobility.

@GeorgiePorge where did you have the injections