Hi everyone! This post was inspired by a conversation I had with a reader in our SI Joint Saga Discussion group. This reader asked for my thoughts on her new exercise plan from a physical therapist. She had SI joint issues as well as sciatica, which sent pain down into her hamstrings (the muscles in the back of the thigh). She had been told by … Continue reading When should you take painkillers and push through pain?
Hi everyone! Someone asked recently, over in our SI Joint Discussion Forum, how often to start out doing pool exercise. I answered her about the pool, but the same concept is true for any form of exercise, when you’re coming back from a long-term injury. Start small. Start wherever you are. When I first started pool exercise, it was after a few months of doing … Continue reading When it comes to exercise, start where you are.
Hi everyone! Okay, so here’s a topic that comes up pretty often for people dealing with SIJD… and it’s also one that’s affected me personally. Many of you have asked me about strange popping sensations and/or pain in the front of your pelvis. Sometimes over the hip socket, and sometimes right by the pubic symphysis, which is the major joint in the very front of … Continue reading How that scary snapping feeling in the front of your pelvis can actually come from tight muscles
Hi everyone– In this post, I want to talk about a very easy and gentle way to start strengthening the gluteus maximus. Most of us are familiar with this muscle– it’s the largest muscle that makes up our butt cheeks! (Just calling it what it is!). This muscle is really important to stabilizing the SI joints, because it’s right there, and it’s responsible for many of the … Continue reading A great exercise to try: Isometric Glute Squeezes
Hi everyone! Here’s a new concept I haven’t written about as much yet. I find it really interesting, and I hope you will too! What I wanted to talk to you about is the SI joint’s role in shock absorption. The SI joint is different from a lot of other joints in the body, in both its form and function. (These are the official terms … Continue reading The SI Joint and Shock Absorption
Hi everyone– I was sorting though old papers recently when I came across the original instructions my physical therapist Paula wrote out for me on the Muscle Energy Technique, back in 2014. A lot of people have asked me about her original instructions, as I’ve been running this blog. I think people want to know how she taught me, and in what way, and what … Continue reading Proof that healing is possible
Hi everyone! Generally, when people think of the core, they think of doing sit-ups, and crunches, and building up a 6-pack. All of that has to do with the first muscle I’m going to mention here: the rectus abdominis. However, there is so much more to the core than that. 1) The rectus abdominis: The “6-pack” muscle; flexes the trunk. The rectus abdominis is the most … Continue reading The muscles of the core (and why we focus on the transverse abdominis!).
Hi everyone! As many of you know, I love getting emails from readers because they compel me to think about SI joint concepts in different ways, and come up with better ways of phrasing things than I might otherwise. I recently heard from a man who had been very active in things like running, rock climbing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He had to put all … Continue reading Advice to a reader: running, rock climbing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Hello, hello everyone! I wanted to check in with you about an issue I’ve heard a lot of people mentioning recently. This time, it’s about an exercise that you may want to be careful with, if you have SI joint issues. What I’m talking about, specifically, is back extension. This is the term that refers to when you’re bending your spine backwards. Back extension can … Continue reading Use caution with back extensions and the SI joint
Hi everyone! You probably won’t be surprised to hear that the question I’m asked the most is “what are your exercises?” However, I know many of you out there are coming from different starting points, with different levels of what you are physically able to do without pain. So, before I go into a list of specific exercises, I first wanted to first address three … Continue reading 3 Things to Know about Pool Exercise
My Sacroiliac Joint Saga 