SI Joint Dysfunction

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m information-gathering.

Tell me:

  • Specifically what type of pain you had
  • Where your initial pain was and any areas it radiated to (ie, into glutes, down leg, etc)
  • What activities were tolerable and what weren’t
  • How did you treat it? (ice, heat, rest, back brace, any strengthening… ?)
  • How long it lasted

Thanks :slight_smile:

2
  • Sharp Pain localized to PSIS, then over the next few weeks it grew to include the right glute.
  • Sitting was fine, walking kept getting worse and worse
  • took 2-3 three chiro adjustments for tx
  • initially, two months I’d guess

Hope that helps.

3

Tell me:

  • Specifically what type of pain you had
  • Where your initial pain was and any areas it radiated to (ie, into glutes, down leg, etc)
  • What activities were tolerable and what weren’t
  • How did you treat it? (ice, heat, rest, back brace, any strengthening… ?)
  • How long it lasted

-Left SI joint
-Low back extreme pain to the point of not being able to walk after a race for 2 days (coming from a person that ran 3 days after a broken collarbone)
-Nothing for a bit, then walking, running remained hard for a week
-Went to a chiro (first time), began doing A TON of piriformis and hip flexor stretching
-things cleared up almost immediately, within the next few days

Hope you feel better soon TC, I hate to hear stuff like this :frowning:

4

I’m at week 8

I either have SI joint dysfunction of Piriformis Syndrome with different opinion between my PT and RMT.

Symptoms
-Irritated ITB
-some hamstring/leg pain when standing after sitting
-radiating discomfort when trying to run
-tight hammies and adductors
-weak hamstrings and leg

Best results so far
-ice
-piriformis stretches
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5llxCSBVqo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtUgS69rPk

-not sitting too long…adding a stability disk filled with air to my office chair to aid in keeping my pelvis from getting locked up.
-swimming…more then usual…stopped biking and running for now
-using a trigger point tennis ball last night at my SI joint gave me a 50% improvement in pain…just massaged in the area while laying on the ball…going to do this again tonight.

Hopefully you get some relief
A

5
  1. Sharp, very acute pain.
  2. Pain showed up out of nowhere on a run, felt like it was coming from my right glute but never spread anywhere else.
  3. Initially I could barely walk, so running was a no way. Biking was also quite painful and swimming was painful simply due to trying to hold my legs up though I could tolerate it with a pull buoy. After a few weeks biking was fine and eventually swimming was ok but running took longer.
  4. Found a guy who did Graston technique and broke up the scar tissue. He also determined that the pain stemmed from inflexible ankles and he gave me some exercises to fix that.
  5. I couldn’t run for 5 weeks, at which point it was tolerable but still hurt. 8 weeks before I was pain-free.
6

We’ve already conversed on this, but I will do it again in case it helps you or anyone else.

First ‘episode’ happened @ 5 years ago and was the result of doing deadlifts in the weight room. At the time I didn’t know the difference between this and my discogenic pain at L4/L5. Hurt a lot for a few weeks and subsided.

Had 2-3 flare ups similar after that.

Came back chronically due to running during my first year of real tri training in 2008. Pain was in the rear of the pelvis in my left SI joint. Pain was localized to that spot but I believe my left hip flexor pain that had been chronic for a few years was really the SI joint since it was relieved mostly upon having my first injection to the site.

After running introduced it, cycling would make it vaguely annoyed. Most especially hard climbing which had me pulling on the handlebars using my glutes and low back muscles in a specific hip angle.

Had 2 injections and it wasn’t quite cleared up. This being in 2009. Then I began forefoot running and it went away immediately. The forefoot running eventually led to a torn plantar’s fascia that is now recovered and I’ve gone back to a light heel or mid-foot strike without consequences. SI joint is good now.

As for strengthening…From inception to date I’ve always been strong through the low back, glutes, abs. In my case, strengthening/stability work didn’t help because it apparently wasn’t a contributor.

FWIW, I would definitely focus on strengthening the glutes and that whole area in the lower back. Deadlifts and back extensions are good. Next up, I would work on shortening your stride. I think that an elongated stride and/or exagerated heel landing is a prime stressor too.

7

Thanks for the responses. I do have tight hip flexors + weak glutes. Ironically I’d been working on lower back strength, but am wary of doing it right now due to pain.

These time frames (except your week) suck :frowning:

8

Healing is totally individual, you could be back in no time! The stretches I found most helpful, and still do 3 times per day 2 years later are:

-In push-up pose, fold foot under body and lean back against leg (probably a yoga name for this). Also works in class by crossing your leg at a 90 degree angle and stretching the piriformis (I am THAT GUY at Duke :slight_smile:

-The thrust! A delightful application of our favorite movement is to put your hands on your hips, loosen your back, and thrust forward as far as possible.

-Lie on the edge of a couch with half of your body off lengthwise (so the leg and hip of one leg), and pull the free foot back toward your head, folding the foot along the floor. Then, put the arm on that side of the body flat against the couch above your head.

This is the type of info I would try to impart if my blog wasn’t a complete waste of everyone’s time :slight_smile: Hope everything else is great, and this is soon!

9

#1 is Pigeon Pose

Thanks. The others sound fun :slight_smile: