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?
Hey everyone, As you may know, I’m a huge fan of aquatic exercise. I think it can be a great way to get a workout without putting pressure on your joints, and the water also offers certain benefits that land-based exercise does not. However, I also know that a lot of people may be hesitant, or possibly even feel intimidated, about beginning pool exercise. On … Continue reading 5 myths about aquatic therapy: let’s clear them up!
So I was out and about getting ready for my Friday night, when I looked down and saw I published a post full of random emoticons by accident. SO embarrassing. Let me just say that the WordPress app makes it WAY too easy to accidentally publish from your phone. Since I can’t unsend this to my email list, and I’ve probably already grabbed your attention, … Continue reading An accidental pocket post… thought I’d give you some updates!
Hey everyone, I realized yesterday that everything I’ve written about my own road to healing really comes down to two factors: These two factors make up two equally important sides of the same coin. You need both for healing. The key is to balance one against the other. Why? Let’s look in more detail. 1) Letting sprained ligaments heal Basically, SI joint injuries occur when … Continue reading How I healed my SI joints without surgery
A huge part of my recovery, in addition to learning which exercises to do and which specific interventions to use, was learning what not to do. As I wrote in a previous post, the SI joint is like a puzzle. For me, the process of understanding my own joints had to be very intellectual. As much time as I spent exercising or going to the … Continue reading Positions where the SI joint is more or less stable
Hey everyone! I’ve been thinking a lot recently about different ways to classify different types of SI joint dysfunction and pain. When most people think of SI joint dysfunction, they think of it as the result of a musculoskeletal injury. However, there are other potential reasons for why people may experience SI joint pain. Sometimes, you can have an underlying medical condition that’s actually … Continue reading The four main types of SI joint dysfunction
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
Hi everyone! I’ve had a lot of requests recently for exercises for the SI joint. There are soo many things I want to say about this, but today, I figured we’d start with what I believe to be the most important place to start strengthening: a core muscle called the transverse abdominis. *** The transverse abdominis is the #1 most important muscle to strengthen to stabilize … Continue reading The core muscles & transverse abdominis: the most important place to start strengthening
Hi everyone! One of the topics people ask me about most frequently is my exercise routine for SI joint dysfunction. However, before I go into specific exercises, I wanted to take a moment to try to shift your thinking on what strengthening means for SI joint dysfunction. What a lot of people get wrong is thinking there are certain exercises that they have to do, … Continue reading Three major muscle groups to strengthen for SI joint dysfunction
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
My Sacroiliac Joint Saga 