What most SI joint videos get wrong about alignment

We’ve all been there.

You have this weird pain in your lower back that you think might be the SI joint, after reading about it online.

So you go on YouTube, where there seem to be a ton of athletic trainers, chiropractors, you name it… all promising to teach you how to correct your alignment in a 3-step video.

I went through this myself. Right after my injury, I was desperate for help. My SI joints felt stuck, and all I wanted to do was to pop them back into place.

So, I’d get down onto the living room floor and try to follow the instructions in these videos.

And yeah, things would “pop,” all right.

At first, I’d feel optimistic— like, maybe this was the moment I finally got it.

That relief would last for an hour, maybe two… until I’d realize it had actually become harder to move. Somehow, now, things were feeling even more stuck.

Why is this, and what does it mean?

Here’s the thing. Any time you “crack” a joint, your nervous system responds by releasing endorphins. (Those are our feel-good, pain-relieving neurotransmitters).

However, these endorphins can just be a response to the joint popping— it doesn’t necessarily mean the joint popped into the correct place.

I’m convinced this phenomenon is why these videos have so many likes and positive comments.

People are finding them when they’re totally desperate and lost — and then, in the moment, they think it solved their problem.

Here’s the real deal

I’m going to level with you guys here. Unfortunately, correcting your SI joint alignment is not as simple as these videos make it seem.

As I explain in my *own* little Youtube short above, each pattern of misalignment that you can have has its own specific correction, as well.

It doesn’t work to do a one-size-fits all correction, because the unfortunate reality is that doing the wrong correction can actually make things worse.

For example, the correction for an anterior rotation is to bring the hip bone backwards (posteriorly). And as you can probably imagine, the correction for a posterior rotation is the opposite– you’re going to want to bring the hip bone forwards (anteriorly).

So it doesn’t really work to just start trying to move things around. You have to actually know what problem you’re dealing with, before you can successfully correct it.

I had this experience myself many times, in the beginning.

I’d think I was doing something to fix my stuck SI joint, based on what some online “expert” was telling me.

I’d feel that initial endorphin rush, making me think it worked. Yet in reality, I had actually aggravated the joint- or potentially made my pattern of misalignment worse— and I wouldn’t feel it for a few hours later.

That’s why I’m so grateful that I found a way to understand my own alignment — and stabilize my SI joints.

My mission here is to bring you guys clarity — so that you won’t need to keep trying the wrong things.

You may notice I don’t have any publicly available videos on how to correct your own SI joint alignment. That’s because I don’t believe these videos are actually helping people, when they don’t have the right foundation of knowledge to build upon.

I want you to have an exact understanding of the different patterns of misalignment that you can have, and how to correct them. I believe you really need to start with the proper foundation of knowledge.

Only by arming yourself with the right information can you avoid falling into the cycle of trying various approaches without really knowing if they’re working.

Moving forward

• I outline all of these terms in my Correcting Your Alignment section, so you can start learning the patterns of misalignment that you can have, and what they mean.

• I also teach my one-on-one coaching clients about alignment in detail. We go over your symptoms, what approaches you’ve tried so far, and come up with a plan for you to move forward. I make sure you have the tools to understand what’s going on with your own alignment, and all of the options that exist to start correcting it.

• I have a vision for a longer-term offering as well, like a 12-week course that walks you through everything you need to know to stabilize your SI joints. (You’ll be hearing more about that soon!).

I’m so excited about what’s coming, so stay tuned!