SI Joint Pain...Frustrated.

[Chile Pepper]

Wow. I have learned so much from reading this thread. Knot, you are amazing. Thanks for all your input!

[daisylubob]

I saw Sally this morning, she is 99.9% sure that it is a bulging disc at L4-5 or L5-S1 due to the symptoms that I get. And when I do the cobra movement, it improves. Next appt is 4/5, I am to stay off the bike til then, and continue the stretches. She said an MRI would not be a bad idea, just to confirm or rule out disc issues.
As for bike fit, I have had 2 done by the Specialized BG fit system. At this point, it may be helpful to be more upright on my bikes. And I have put mtb racing out of my mind til I am 'fixed'.

[KnottedYet]

As for bike fit, I have had 2 done by the Specialized BG fit system.

Ah-ha.
After your disc is healed up, lets have a little discussion about bike fit philosophies.

[lisathew8lifter]

you will definitely not like the answer that i'm going to give you but the ONLY way to ever fix this is to take the time to heal and to strengthen your core.

on august 21 i went to a sports med doctor in the twin cities that also treats olympic athletes. i was desperate and in massive pain. i mountain bike, i run, i lift weights and i did classes at the fitness center. i couldn't lay down, i couldn't sit, it hurt to do everything. EVERYTHING. i got a new bike, i went back several times to adjust it. i took 4 motrin before every ride...nothing cut it.

when i went to see amy, she could tell immediately what needed to be done just by looking at me stand, sit and walk. i was skeptical...really...you're going to help me after seeing me two minutes? she said women are prone to pelvic instability and she knew it was SI joint. i had never heard of an SI joint much less thought mine hurt. we started with xrays and went from there.

the xrays didn't tell the full story so we went for an mri. stress fracture in right tibia (running) and disc degeneration. the mri was the worst since i had to lay for 1.5 hours...that is soo not right.

she said the degeneration could be causing pain or maybe not, but i proceeded to have two shots of cortisone in each SI joint. i have never been so happy as the relief i immediately felt after each shot. again, i was desperate..not going to live on advil, not going to quit exercising. when the doctor told me i needed to quit, i cried. it was august...summer still...bike season, i had vacation plans and they involved biking. BUT...i wanted to heal and i knew that i needed to treat the condition or i'd be talking about this forever.

soo...my point is that it takes time. this is NOT a quick fix. not even close. if you want to enjoy yourself and become better at the sport, whatever your goal may be, you need to resign yourself to the fact that you need about 6 months of very low impact (or no impact) activity WHILE you do PT. i am lucky, i had the means and the time to do PT but it was a long road. i was fortunate to get in the hands of the best PT in this area...specializing in this type of injury. it was a long time coming, many years of abuse and over use and using the wrong muscles. i had no core strength, was breathing through my back, using my back for everything i did. i started with limited ranges of motion and no strength and now i have stregnth. this is going to be a life time of PT (on my own now) and continuing to build on what i already do an know.

yes august 21 until february 27...that is SIX months. i walked outside and on the treadmill and did my PT. six months. no biking, no running, nothing. if i lived to tell about it, so can you. i am running, haven't yet started biking (mn - still colder here - but soon) and i am so excited to start because i know that i'm going to be pain free when i do.

bottom line, you know what to do, now do it. if i can, anyone can!

[daisylubob]

UPDATE:
Xrays show disc degeneration and bony changes (arthritic type) in the lumbar spine. MRI is next, and I have an appt w/ a neuro DR who is a cyclist on 5/17. I am not liking the sound of this....scared.

[yellow]

UPDATE:
Xrays show disc degeneration and bony changes (arthritic type) in the lumbar spine. MRI is next, and I have an appt w/ a neuro DR who is a cyclist on 5/17. I am not liking the sound of this....scared.

Don't be...EVERYONE has some amount of disc degeneration and, yes, even arthritis. Some people are asymptomatic their whole lives. Others, not so lucky. The xrays probably show narrowing between the vertebrae, which usually indicates degeneration. Only the MRI will tell the extent/level of degeneration. Deep breath, and wait for the MRI results. Talking to a neurosurgeon is not a bad thing, but you also might want to consult a physiatrist (non-surgical).

After years of pain and trying to fix it on my own, I ended up having lumbar fusion. Life is way better now, and I'm still early in recovery. I'm not saying this is the answer for you...I tried just about everything out there you can try and would be happy to go on and on about it all via PM if you'd like.

Above all, you need to have patience. Take your time. Open your mind to solutions that might not be something you ever thought of.

I hope you find relief soon.

[KnottedYet]

UPDATE:
Xrays show disc degeneration and bony changes (arthritic type) in the lumbar spine. MRI is next, and I have an appt w/ a neuro DR who is a cyclist on 5/17. I am not liking the sound of this....scared.

Don't be scared. Your xray sounds perfectly normal. Remember, the "standard" is a 20 year old male. If your spine doesn't look like a 20 year old male, you are degenerated.

Don't pay any attention.

If your problem required surgery, it would be giving you unremitting agony. As it is, you only have pain on the bike after 20 minutes and if you sit at work too long. If your symptoms are absent some of the time, then you just need to let the body heal so they can be absent all of the time.

(And you need to have someone with a PT background check your bike fit and biking posture.)

[daisylubob]

Don't be scared. Your xray sounds perfectly normal. Remember, the "standard" is a 20 year old male. If your spine doesn't look like a 20 year old male, you are degenerated.

Don't pay any attention.

If your problem required surgery, it would be giving you unremitting agony. As it is, you only have pain on the bike after 20 minutes and if you sit at work too long. If your symptoms are absent some of the time, then you just need to let the body heal so they can be absent all of the time.

(And you need to have someone with a PT background check your bike fit and biking posture.)

That is crazy to compare me to a 20 yo male. What is the point???? Anyway, I am degenerated

The symptoms of pain in the low back seem to be there more now, not just w/ sitting at work and on the bike. Feels like a constant,dull, sometimes crampy-like, annoying ache in the low back. Never sharp or take-your-breath-away stabbing sensation. It is at the spot where you put your hands to do a standing backbend, right where my middle and ring finger are on my back (did that make sense?).It does NOT hurt when I am in my bed sleeping, thankfully. I am so aware of that pain now, it has kind of taken over and I am obsessing about it
I see Sally again on Monday.
DH is going to attempt to modify my bikes a bit. Raise the bars w/ a headset extender on the road bike. Raise the bars w/ 2 more spacers on the mtb, and flip the stem over.
I also started taking Tissue Rejuvenator from Hammer, 4 caps am & 4 caps pm. Figured it would not hurt!