Category: Resources

Knees, Muscle Imbalace, Resources

How I healed from chondromalacia patellae

Hi everyone! Something that comes up pretty often when people reach out to me is a knee condition called chondromalacia patellae (also sometimes called patellofemoral pain syndrome). As you may know, I was struggling with chondromalacia patellae in both knees when I first developed SI joint dysfunction. It seems to me that the two can go together pretty often, because both can be caused by muscle … Continue reading How I healed from chondromalacia patellae

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

What are people talking about when they talk about “balancing the hips?”

Hi everyone! I had a really interesting comment recently from a reader who’d been suffering from low back pain, but wasn’t quite sure what the exact cause was. She’d found relief both from a chiropractic adjustment as well as massage therapy. However, she wasn’t sure what exactly the chiropractor and massage therapist meant when they referred to the problem they were addressing as her “hips being … Continue reading What are people talking about when they talk about “balancing the hips?”

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Anatomy, Joint Anatomy, Resources

My first Youtube video: Where is the sacroiliac joint?

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday. You may know that I’ve been meaning to make Youtube videos for a while now.  When it comes to certain concepts regarding the SI joint, I’ve come to feel that long, wordy posts aren’t always the best way to convey information. However, it’s taken me a while to actually collect my thoughts (never mind get up the courage!) to actually make … Continue reading My first Youtube video: Where is the sacroiliac joint?

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins3 Comments
My Story, Resources

My experience seeing an orthopedist, and why I didn’t pursue lidocaine or cortisone injections

Hi everyone! For some reason this subject has come up a lot in my emails to readers recently, so I thought it was high time I give it its own post. *** At one point into my journey– I’d say it was probably about two years into the whole five year saga– I made an appointment with an orthopedist. I’d already seen one physiatrist, who … Continue reading My experience seeing an orthopedist, and why I didn’t pursue lidocaine or cortisone injections

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins2 Comments
exercise, Resources, Stretching

Stretches for the hamstrings, and how to protect the SI joints while stretching

Hey everyone! I’ve been getting a ton of requests for info on the stretches that helped me recover from SI joint dysfunction. In this post, I thought I’d focus specifically on the hamstrings. The hamstrings are a pretty major muscle group in the body– they run up and down the back of your thigh, connecting the back of your knee to the bottom of the … Continue reading Stretches for the hamstrings, and how to protect the SI joints while stretching

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins9 Comments
For Patients, Resources

SI joint awareness is growing– check out this article from TIME Magazine

My God.  We have come so far from the days when I could hardly find any information on the SI joint, and felt like such a freak. I recently discovered this awesome article on the SI joint from TIME magazine: How your butt can hurt your back (what a title!).  It’s kind of accurate, though. I find it so validating to find more and more … Continue reading SI joint awareness is growing– check out this article from TIME Magazine

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins4 Comments
For Patients, My Writing, Resources, Stretching

Stretching and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Hey everyone! You might have noticed that a theme to my posts recently: how to do the things you need to do to get better, without also re-spraining your ligaments at the same time. In this post, we’re going to talk about stretching, which was another important factor in my recovery. As I mentioned in my last post about massage, every few months throughout my saga, I’d find … Continue reading Stretching and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

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

Massage and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Update, August 2022: A lot has changed for me, since I learned how to stabilize my SI joints. I’m happy to say that I’ve moved past needing regular massages. I wanted to leave this post up so you can see my whole journey, but to see how I’m doing now, go here. *** And now, the original post. *** Okay, so here’s a somewhat tricky … Continue reading Massage and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins4 Comments
Anatomy, For Patients, ligaments, Resources

Ways to stabilize your ligaments: strengthening, SI joint belts, and taping techniques

One of the biggest things you need to keep in mind, in terms of stabilizing your SI joints, is allowing any potential ligament sprains in the area to heal. How can you stabilize your ligaments?  There are a few different ways to you can look at this issue.  Let’s examine them in more detail: Modifying your movement patterns and daily activities to avoid re-spraining the … Continue reading Ways to stabilize your ligaments: strengthening, SI joint belts, and taping techniques

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Manual Therapy, Muscle Energy Technique, Physical Therapy, Resources

Finally, a decent video of someone using the Muscle Energy Technique for the SI joint!

I couldn’t believe I stumbled upon this video tonight… apparently it was posted in 2012. This is only useful video of someone using the Muscle Energy Technique (MET) for the SI joint I’ve seen so far.  It’s from Jon Schumacher. Compared to all the others I’ve sifted through over the years, this video actually illustrates the principles that I use (thank you Jon!). As I … Continue reading Finally, a decent video of someone using the Muscle Energy Technique for the SI joint!

Unknown's avatarChristy Collins9 Comments