Honestly, as much as I have criticized chiropractors at times on here, I know I would have been completely lost when my SI joint first locked up back in 2011 if my chiropractor hadn’t been able to explain things to me. I’ve flat out never seen a physician that had anything truly helpful to say about the mechanics of this joint. I’ve seen one orthopedist … Continue reading Key Point #1: Identifying the problem
Well, I had a feeling it was inevitable… I knew that, at some point, my SI joints were probably going to lock up again. And, at the end of last week, it happened. As is the case with most things that go wrong with the body, I think a combination of factors came together here to make this part of my body (temporarily) worse again. … Continue reading What made one of my SI joints lock up for the first time in 8 months?
Hey everyone, If you’re anything like me, you had never even heard of the SI joint before you injured it. What is the SI joint, and what does it do? Basically, what I tell people is that the SI joint is where the pelvis and the spine connect. The SI joint doesn’t really move in the way you think of when you picture a stereotypical … Continue reading Main functions of the SI Joint
Looking back, I can see that part of the reason it took me so long to get information on the SI joint is that I simply didn’t know where to start looking. Since I first injured my SI joints back in 2011, it does seem as though there’s a lot more information available now (and I’m doing my best to contribute to that effort!). However, … Continue reading SI Joint Concepts: Useful Terminology
If you have SI joint dysfunction, this is a really important concept for you to understand. There are different types of issues that can affect the SI joint, but this was the main problem for me, during the entire five years I struggled with this problem. *** The sacroiliac joint is made up by the meeting of the sacrum and the two hip bones, or … Continue reading What happens when an SI joint gets stuck?
The SI joint is mainly held together by bands of connective tissue known as ligaments. These ligaments hold the sacrum (base of the spine) and the ilia (hip bones) together to make up the two sacroiliac joints. Here are some diagrams which give you a general view of what the ligaments look like: An injury to the SI joint will generally involve an injury … Continue reading The ligaments of the SI joint
So I tested my SI joints today in a way that I haven’t since I injured them: I went for a hike, not in my regular shoes, but in my actual winter boots. They were still relatively new and had that just-out-of-the-box feeling– in other words, they were kind of stiff. And I pushed myself. I charged up hills, I gingerly balanced my way down … Continue reading In the Woods
Now that my SI joints themselves are actually staying stable (thank God!) I can begin to identify other factors that may have been contributing to my pain, and causing my sense of being off-kilter, all along. What I’m referring to specifically in this post is tightness in the muscles of the lower back. When these muscles are tight they can pull on the spine … Continue reading Tight muscles can mimic SI joint dysfunction
Hey everyone, These are some common terms relating to the SI joint which, unfortunately, can be very confusing to a lot of people. Let’s clear them up! The words hypermobile and hypomobile can be used in a few different ways to describe the SI joint, or any joint in the body. Let’s start by talking about what these words actually mean. Hypomobility refers to a … Continue reading SI Joint Concepts: Hypomobility and Hypermobility
So, I think I’m finally at the point in my recovery that seemed like a dream when people first described it to me five years ago: The point at which I’d finally develop enough muscle strength to make up for the fact that the ligaments that are supposed to hold my SI joint together have been stretched out, and are no longer doing their job. It’s funny … Continue reading The point I’m at now: When muscle strength finally takes over for weak ligaments
My Sacroiliac Joint Saga 