What you need to know about SI joint alignment

Hey everyone,

One thing that sets my approach apart from a lot of the other people out there talking about SI joint dysfunction is that I don’t just talk about strengthening.

I know many of you have already been working with a doctor, or a PT, who’s given you a list of exercises to do and told you that’s the way to get better.

But when you use an exercise-only approach, you’re really overlooking one of the key factors in how the SI joint functions, and whether it hurts– and that’s the concept of alignment.

I received this really poignant comment from Kathryn the other day. She struggled with an upslip for eight years, after being hit by a car. For a long time, she worked with a PT who only gave her exercises– which, unfortunately, did not fix her problem.

Finally, she did find someone who was able to recognize her upslip and treat it, which changed everything:

Kathryn’s story shows just how important it is to factor SI joint alignment into your recovery plan.

Why alignment is important

When your SI joints are out of alignment, it changes the way your body moves as a whole. That’s because your SI joints are meant to play such a key role in everything we do. Every time you take a step, the impact of your foot hitting the ground travels up your leg and through your SI joints, which are responsible for directing it in a controlled way up the rest of your spine.

Similarly, the SI joints are also meant to control the weight and the force of your upper body as it sits above the pelvis.

Although this joint itself doesn’t appear to move very much — which is why so many practitioners minimize its importance– it’s actually incredibly important to pay attention to.

How to move forward

You can see how Kathryn was finally able to start moving forward once she found someone to help correct her alignment and bring her hip bone back into place. This, in turn, let her foot start hitting the ground normally, relieving the abnormal pressure that had been placed upon it.

Similarly, I’m happy to say that my own foot and knee pain is gone, now that I’ve stabilized my pelvis. I didn’t have to do any other treatments, rather than heal the root cause.

Giving you the tools to empower yourself

Lately, you may have noticed that I’ve shifted the tone of my site.

I used to tell people to “just keep trying physical therapy.” A physical therapist is the first person who truly corrected my alignment successfully, and I do think that when you can find the right PT, it’s a great option.

However, you can see how in the case of someone like Kathryn, she actually stuck with a certain type of PT for a long time, not knowing that there was a better option.

That’s why my goal now is to empower you with an understanding of alignment in its own right.

My goal is to create a place where, no matter where in the world you live, you can come here and find the help you need to move forward.

This is what I’m creating, through my blog and through my coaching program.

I want you to have the tools, and an awareness of what you need, so that you don’t get stuck waiting for someone using the wrong approach to help you.

As Kathryn’s story shows, it doesn’t necessarily have to be physical therapy that moves you forward.  The key is that you’re able to locate practitioners who know what they’re doing– meaning they know the exact patterns of misalignment that you can have, and how to correct them.  

👉 But you can’t find this unless you know what to look for– that’s where I can help.

The cycle of “try and see”

The more and more clients I’ve worked with, I’ve seen how people really get stuck in this cycle with each practitioner. Each time you see a new person, you have to invest a certain level of time and effort to really “try and see” if their approach will help you.

But sometimes, it’s like not being able to see the forest for the trees. You can’t really see what’s missing from this approach, or how it truly compares to the other options, because you’re already in it. You’ve already decided to commit, and now you are learning this person’s method and framework.

I want to help you break out of this cycle and finally stabilize your SI joints for good.

This is what makes my approach different from some of the other approaches out there.

👉 I want to give you a top-level view so you know the exact terms to use to describe the different patterns of alignment and how to correct them.

👉 I want you to know how to communicate with medical professionals in a way that is clear, and helps you advocate for yourself and what you need– including a proper assessment of your SI joint alignment.

👉 I want to help you get from those beginning stages, where something hurts and you’re not sure what it is, or how to find help for it – to having an exact understanding of what alignment means and how to correct it, and how to keep your SI joints stable moving forward.

Next steps

The Correcting Your Alignment page of my site has a ton more detail, and explanations of some of the specific patterns of misalignment that you can have, as well.

I’ve also put some new clips up on my Youtube Channel, if you haven’t seen those yet!

And, if you want to move to the next level, I offer one-on-one coaching sessions. This is where we go over your whole story in detail, and talk about alignment — and anything else you want help with! — so that I can get you moving forward again.

I’ve got so many awesome things planned for you guys– stay tuned!

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