Exercises for Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Posted: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
by Jennifer Adolfs
http://www.pilates-back-joint-exercise.com
If you are looking to do exercises for sacroiliac joint pain then your first focus should be to stabilize the pelvis including the sacrum in proper alignment.
DO NOT do SI joint exercises in poor pelvic alignment, you will only stabilize the faulty alignment and cause more problems!
FIRST
Learn neutral spine: Neutral Spine is the healthiest and most stable position for the spine and pelvis taking in to account the natural curvature of the spine.
- Standing: Back up against a wall with your buttocks and shoulder blades leaning into the wall. Notice whether your lower back is against the wall or if there is an excessive arch there. The latter is more common.
To achieve neutral keep the buttocks and shoulders against the wall and then draw the middle part of your back into the wall. You should feel the abdominal muscles engage and/or the ribs drawing in.
- Lying: Lying on a mat with your knees bent and feet hip width apart, arms at your side.
Begin by releasing your tailbone down creating an arc in the lower back, move up into the mid back and draw it down without flattening the spine. The shoulder blades are down and heavy and the back of the neck is long, do this by drawing your chin down towards your chest leaving the size of a fist space there.
- Sitting: When sitting in a chair press your bottom right up against the back of the chair then stack the rest of the spine over it. Your collarbone is over your hip bones and your breastbone is right above the pubic bone. Navel drawn in gently.
Proper posture is the best way to reduce tension from sitting at work all day, on computers, driving, etc.
SECOND
Pelvic Stabilization Exercises for Sacroiliac Joint Pain:
Wall squats
Position: Standing in neutral against the wall with your feet the length of your thighs away from the wall.
Action: Bend your knees no lower than a 90 degree angle keeping your weight in the heels evenly for both feet. Kneecaps should line up with the second toe in each foot. Repeat for 8-12 repetitions. Do 2-3 sets every other day.
Cues: Place hands on hip bones and make sure they stay level as you bend and lift, also keep the buttocks, shoulder blades, and mid part of the back against the wall throughout the exercise.
Pelvic clocks
Position: Lying on the floor with neutral spine and knees bent.
Action: Imagine your pelvis as a clock. 12 o'clock is at your navel, 6 is at your pubic or tailbone, 3 and 9 are the hip bones. Now imagine there is water in that clock or bowl and you are going to empty from 12 o'clock around clockwise and then counterclockwise feeling each number on the clock working.
Cues: Keep the knees still you are just mobilizing the pelvis.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Position: Lying in neutral spine.
Action: Without changing the position of your spine inhale deeply through the nose filling up or expanding into the ribs and upper back, then exhale through your mouth expelling the air again without changing the spine. On the exhale feel all the air leave your body feeling the muscles tighten around the waist as your abdomen flattens.
THIRD
Strengthening Exercises for Sacroiliac Joint Pain: Once you have a stable and aligned pelvis you can begin mobilizing exercises to continue strengthening.
Leg Circles
Position: Lying on the floor with one leg extended along the mat and the other at a 90 degree angle to the floor and a neutral spine.
Action: Keeping the pelvis still circle the thigh (leg) in the hip socket 6 times each direction. Switch legs.
Cues: Focus on keeping the torso and leg on the mat very still as you freely circle the leg in the air.
Bridges
Position: Lying in neutral with knees bent arms at your side.
Action: Inhale to prepare and exhale as you press into your heels lifting the pelvis up in neutral until weight is between shoulder blades not in the neck. Inhale hold then exhale to bring the tailbone and ribs down all at one time.
Cues: Focus on the navel drawn in to lift the pubic bone up to the ceiling. Weight even in the feet.
Rotation and side bending exercises can be added as you are symptom free in neutral spine.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)This article was very helpful and simple to understand. I have been dealing with bad SI joints since 2003 (due to a soccer injury) and they are just now underway to "healing" or better yet, me being able to walk, run and play soccer without pain and reduced stiffness afterwards. I am also taking pilates and yoga on the stability ball primarily for core strength and this is amazing...no pain for days after. HG
This absolutely was helpful to me! I've been traveling (involving heavy lifting, walking, weight-carrying, etc), and accessed this article on my trip. The descriptions of the exercises are easy to follow (though illustrations would be very helpful, too), and this is something I can do with no equipment. No pain this morning, and free walking movement after just one session! Thank you so much. A short description of what the SI joint is, and how it functions, would be nice, and a description of the rotation and side-bending exercises to do for maintenance of good functioning.
I am going to post a link to these exercises on my SIJD Facebook Group !! What a great set of exercises; I hope they will make a difference for all the people with SIJD in my group.Thanks !!These seem like really good excersises.I have only just discovered after a few years that I have problems with my SI joint.I have lost 4 stone and still have 3 to go but now I'm concerned that the stuff I've been doing at the gym may have been getting me fitter but re-damaging the ligaments in my SI joint without me realizing?Is there anyone out there who has lost weight and found the condition better or gone or knows excersises to avoid? I cant really get a straight answer from my gym or massage guy.Dave ScotlandI KNOW what you mean. I actually Have lost 35 pounds since January 2009. I was in a car accident in 2000. I've had pain ALWAYS but in the past 2 years it's been hurting ALL day and night. I take tons of nacartics to relieve the pain and see the chiroprator twice a week. I am taking kickboxing 2x a week, Step Class 2x a week then weight lifting 1x a week. I STOPPED all excercise this week and the pain has been subsiding. I have been resting it, using ice 20 minutes followed by heat 20 minutes. Then I have a Electircal stimulator I use as well and a heat patch during the day sittign at my desk.I agree with you I think the Gym isnt giving our joints time to heal and not be inflammed.COULD YOU PLEASE SEND ME A SITE THAT HAS THE EXERCISES? MBRILEY@EVERTEK.NET....THANKSCheck out pilates-back-joint-exercise.com, which describes these and many others. Go to the "for your hips" tab on the left column and scroll through the many different articles for the hips and si joint specifically.
I have pelvic joint pain since i got pregnant. My baby is 1 year old now, but my joint pain is still not recovering. Just discover this webpage today. Hope the exercise can help me recovering from the pain.I had pain as well after my pregnancy. Check out pilates-back-joint-exercise.com. Doing a general pilates and stretching program 3 times a week has helped me. Try the pilates ball or the beginner level pilates dvd from this site. They are listed on the tab on the left column. Doing side kicks, leg circles, and stretching exercises for the hips and low back helped me with this pain.
I have JUST discovered this article. I have had a dislocation (in two ways) of my SI joint for 1 year. I am getting deparate. I plan on trying this. My biggest problem so far is getting the joint to stay in place long enough to even get to the point of exercise. I saw a spot on the web for trying to get it into place. My hubby can get it into place, but as soon as I move it can go out without me even getting off the bed. I am going to get him to do this while I am on the floor and then try a few gentle moves. I will go slowly. I will update. I would really like to not go back on muscle relaxers.Check out this article at pilates-back-joint-exercise.com: "pilates exercises helped my si joint problem" This particular person found the exercises in the Pilates Ebook very beneficial in taking away and keeping away painful si joint issues.
I'm seeing a consultant about my pain which I think could be SI joint pain. Does anyone else get any referred pain like myself in shoulders, neck and especially the head? My headaches are ridiculous and seem to be getting worse. Had an MRI scan on head and neck and that's come back clean.In reference to Helen Green's headaches, I have experienced terrible heaches when my right SIJ is irritated. From what I can tell the headaches are related to muscle spasms initiated by injury to the SIJ eg: sitting on a hard surface or any excessive impact on the joint from walking without good shoes and orthotics. My right rotator cuff muscles and upper trapezius are overtight from occupational repetitive muscle stress and so when the lower back muscle tightness reaches the area of my shoulder blade the headache can come on immediately after the SIJ strain.
Stretching and mobilization of the joint are helping but I'm not there yet. It's hard to work on thoracic core strength exercises when the upper traps switch on and spasm so easily.
Hi Jennifer I really need your help!! I been a busy massage therapist over 11 years and I did alot of traction body work along with massages. For the last 4 years I have had SI joint pain. Everytime i massage or even try to lift my arms in the air it's become an issue and bothersome. It's hard when I have to press down into the client and i feel my right side S I joint being affected by the movement. I like to know how can I stabalize it because it has become very tender. I need to know what exercise to do to strenghthen it. When I try to push in and up my abdomen hurts. I have a hard time sleeping at night. please email me delafilet@aol.com
or if I may contact you and /or my phone is 786-554-6894. please help me. so I can continue helping other's
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