BACK PAIN FROM THE SACROILIAC JOINT

Low back pain and SI joint dysfunction. You missed a step and your foot drops into a lower part of the pavement. You are pregnant and are flooded with a hormone called Relaxin. You are an athlete that relies heavily on the dominance of one leg. All three scenarios can be the potential cause of 25% of patients that are complaining of low back pain. 

The sacroiliac joint is where the triangular bone of the sacrum comes in contact with the ilium bone of the pelvis. It can be visually noted by the two dimples on your lower back. These are called the “dimples of Venus or dimples of Apollo” historically because they were noted to be a mark of beauty. Well, they aren’t so beautiful when they are emitting pain! 

The SI joint isn’t a typical joint like your shoulder ball-in-socket or like your knee, a hinge joint. This joint relies on a force and form closure and it functions to take the weight of the trunk and transfer it down into the hip bones. This weight then gets split and distributed to each leg, so you can understand that if there is any asymmetries down the chain, like a shorter limb or overuse of one side (e.g carrying a baby on one hip, hurdling with one leg more than the other or a sudden missed step), this joint can become problematic. 

The common symptoms related to sacroiliac joint pain can strongly mimic low back pain. It is more commonly felt on one side vs both. It happens more in women than men, especially during  pregnancy due to the hormone Relaxin which helps to “relax” the ligaments and to assist in widening her pelvis. 

Using both force and form to reinforce the muscles, ligaments and fascia during a training program is most important. So, using banded resistance exercises can be useful. Let pain be your guide. 

This is the 1st banded exercise in a series of 3 for SIJ strengthening. 

Comment below if you’ve ever had SI joint issues. What was your go to treatment?