Category: For Patients

For Patients, My Writing, Resources

Physiatrists: A great type of specialist to see for SI joint dysfunction

The word physiatrist is always a little awkward.  When I say the word in real life, people usually have no idea what I’m talking about, or think I’m talking about a psychiatrist at first. But a physiatrist is different.  They are doctors (usually an MD, but also can be a DO– doctor of osteopathy.  For our purposes right now, we don’t need to get into the distinction). … Continue reading Physiatrists: A great type of specialist to see for SI joint dysfunction

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins5 Comments
For Patients, My Writing, Resources

Causes of sacroiliac joint dysfunction: acute and chronic

SI joint dysfunction tends to begin with an injury to the ligaments that are meant to hold the joint in place.  This can happen through blunt force, like falling on your butt, or through repetitive motions and sports that subject the ligaments to more force than they are able to handle over time. In general, I’ve found these factors can be grouped into two main categories: … Continue reading Causes of sacroiliac joint dysfunction: acute and chronic

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins6 Comments
Daily Life, exercise, For Patients, Muscle Energy Technique, My Story, Resources

My awesome stretching table

Hey everyone, One of the biggest challenges I faced during my healing journey was being able to perform basic movements without pain. A lot of the exercises and stretches I knew I should be doing required me to get down onto the floor, but even the simple act of getting down onto the floor would put too much strain on my ligaments, causing my SI … Continue reading My awesome stretching table

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins7 Comments
Anatomy, For Patients, ligaments, My Writing, Resources

What’s the difference between a ligament sprain and a muscle strain?

Hey everyone, Here’s a concept that comes up all the time, so I wanted to take a moment to clarify it. What is a ligament, and what is a tendon?  And what happens when we injure each one? A ligament is a very tough band of connective tissue that connects one bone to another.   Ligaments are what stabilize the SI joint (along with our muscles).  … Continue reading What’s the difference between a ligament sprain and a muscle strain?

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For Patients, Manual Therapy, Muscle Energy Technique, Resources

Frequently Asked Questions: the Muscle Energy Technique

Hey everyone– these are some Frequently Asked Questions about the Muscle Energy Technique. (I get asked these so often, I decided to put the answers up in their own post!). What is the Muscle Energy Technique? It’s a form of manual therapy, or “hands-on” therapy.  To me, the name sounds a little bit more new-agey than it needs to. The kind of Muscle Energy Technique … Continue reading Frequently Asked Questions: the Muscle Energy Technique

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins1 Comment
For Patients, My Story, My Writing, Resources

What I learned from seeing my third physiatrist

I had a pretty interesting experience yesterday that I thought I’d share with you all– the good and the bad. I saw a physiatrist at Mass General Hospital who was actually familiar with treating the SIJ.  (A physiatrist is a type of doctor that treats physical dysfunction, similar to an orthopedist or a pain specialist.  People always think I’m saying “psychiatrist,” but I’m not). I … Continue reading What I learned from seeing my third physiatrist

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins2 Comments
Aquatic Exercise, For Patients, My Writing, Resources

What’s so awesome about aquatic therapy?

It’s a great way to build muscular strength without negatively impacting your SI joints. Basically, if you have an SI joint injury, you have likely sprained the ligaments that are supposed to hold the joint in place.   The only way around this is to build up enough muscle strength around the joint that your muscles are able to hold things in place more.  In … Continue reading What’s so awesome about aquatic therapy?

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins4 Comments
For Patients, My Story, My Writing

So, it turns out I wasn’t crazy…

Hey everyone, I was just working on revamping the “My Story” page for this blog, and I ended up reflecting on one aspect of this saga which I really haven’t talked about as much: How totally and completely crazy I felt when I was first trying to get help for this problem. The first time one of my SI joints locked up, in 2011, it was a … Continue reading So, it turns out I wasn’t crazy…

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins6 Comments
For Patients, My Story, My Writing, Resources

Facing one of my worst fears: a potential reinjury

Well, I knew it had to come eventually– the day I slipped and fell on ice, and landed on my butt. Blunt force to the SI joints, particularly if it’s asymmetric, is known to be a potential cause of injury.  That’s because it can subject the ligaments to greater force than they can handle, stretching them out. A similar fall, I believe, is what caused … Continue reading Facing one of my worst fears: a potential reinjury

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins1 Comment
For Patients, My Writing, Resources

What is Prolotherapy? (and why I didn’t end up having it).

A reader asked me if I’d ever had prolotherapy yesterday, and since I’ve been meaning to write about it for a while, now seems like the right time to put this out there! What is prolotherapy? Prolotherapy is a relatively new form of treatment, meant to speed the healing of sprained ligaments. It involves an injection of special substances into the specific area you want … Continue reading What is Prolotherapy? (and why I didn’t end up having it).

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins4 Comments