I hurt.

[tctrek]

Wow! I've had SI problems for several years after falling down oak hardwood steps on my butt and back. It was so painful to sit down that I worked standing up at my desk for 1.5 years. Visit and visit to the PT's and chiropractors and icing it down. After about 4 years I have it mostly under control, but it will flare up if I don't sit up straight or sit in a soft chair.

I've been doing Feldenkrais lessons for a few months now and it is also helping me. Another funny thing that helps me when my back gets tight is to get on my hands and knees and totally relax my stomach muscles.... kind of like those yoga poses where you make your back convex and concave.

But no one has ever explained it like Knot did. That was absolutely awesome.

sfa --- I really hope you find the clues from your body about how to get past this.

[Pax]

...But no one has ever explained it like Knot did. That was absolutely awesome.

I know what you mean, when I ruptured a disk in my back last year I came here and asked Knott to help me understand what my PT was talking about...she made it crystal clear for me and I got sooo much more from my PT sessions after that!

[KnottedYet]

I'm glad all my ranting and raving is useful. I work at a clinic where the major emphasis is on educating the patients. I don't heal anyone, I teach them how to heal themselves. I rarely touch patients. I don't use modalities (ultrasound, electrical stim, traction) other than hot or cold packs every once in a great while. People already have a good idea what is going on. The body is already working like sixty to fix itself. They just need some guidance to make it happen faster and more efficiently.

Another funny thing that helps me when my back gets tight is to get on my hands and knees and totally relax my stomach muscles.... kind of like those yoga poses where you make your back convex and concave.

Yoga is cool beans. Here's an exercise program that's been refined over 3,000 years. How can PT beat that? (ummm, by stealing yoga poses... which we do shamelessly) Here's a system that's been studied over generations. Lots of attention paid to aging bodies, injured bodies, and what happens to them over years and years. Student learning from mentor, and then watching mentor's body change until death. Incredibly valuable stuff. Yogis had disc problems. Yogis had SI problems. They knew this stuff over the lifetime of the patient.

TCTrek, if doing the cow part of cat/cow feels good, consider doing the cobra as well. Both are extension of the lumbar spine at the sacrum. Remember, the only way we can reach the pelvis (ilium and sacrum) is through the bones that meet it (femur and lumbar spine).

[tribogota]

whining is underrated!

[Kathi]

Knot: Thank You so much for this information. Due to your post I now have a better understanding of what is going on with the SI joint and that this issue may not magically go away. My second PT gave me a basic understanding of what the SI joint does but didn't go through the detail that you did.

Last year I suffered with pain in my right hip, knee and foot. Several different Drs., 4 mos of PT and an MRI didn't shed light on the problem. The 1st Pt said my right side was weaker than the left but he couldn't figure out why. When I'm in rehab for an injury I faithfully do my exercises prescibed by my PT but the prescribed exercises to strengthen my right hip made me hurt more so I quit doing them. I resorted to bracing my knee when I exercised because it made my hip feel better. The MRI showed osteoarthritis in my right hip and SI joint, which was attributed to the source of my pain, except my PT said I didn't move like an arthritic person. When I was released from PT I was still experiencing pain and had no resolution as to the cause.

I saw a PT who did bike fits because I couldn't ride. Instead of a bike fit he decided to check me out and found my left SI joint was locked. One exercise prescribed and 3 visits and all the issues went away, including the knee pain which had been diagnosed many years ago as chondromalicia.

I copied your post to my exercise blog so when I do things that make my SI joint angry I have reminder of what is going on. Please continue to share your wealth of knowledge with us. It is very much appreciated.