Exercising and SI Joint pain

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newjeans150
newjeans150 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone tell me what specific exercises I should NOT be doing with sacroilliac joint issues? I recently started a Les Mills Bodypump class so I can get a total body workout with free weights. I sometimes will have pain stemming from my SI joint, but I am not sure exactly what movement is causing the problem. I like the free weights, I am a 61 year old woman, weigh 185lbs. just going low carb and obviously need to lose weight (have a lot of belly fat). My chiropractor said to just use proper form and work through the soreness.....not real happy with that answer, as I need to pay $40 copay each time I need to see him for si pain, and I do not want to cause more serious back issues. Any advice from someone who is knowledgeable about the ssi joint? Trainers at the YMCA do not even know what the SI joint is.....advice welcome. Thanks.

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  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited May 2018
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    Go to your doctor who will then likely refer you to a physical therapist. Actually I would flat out just asked to be referred to a physical therapist just incase your doctor doesn't think of doing so. None of us here are qualified to give you a reasonable answer other than that.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
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    Google "SI joint physio + name of your city" and try to find a physio or chiropractor who specializes in such pain
  • PAFC84
    PAFC84 Posts: 1,871 Member
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    I've got SIJ pain and it is from overly tight muscles (left glute) squeezing the joint. Its a different sort of pain to when my SIJ is actually taking too much load.

    Go and see a good Osteo to find out what the cause of the pain is; you may need to have adjustments/manipulations before you can start a stretching routine or you may need to build up muscle around the lower back/glute area.

    Either way, it is normally fixable. Your chiropractor either doesn't want to fix it because he likes you paying $40 a visit or he doesn't know how to fix it or possibly both.

    In the mean time, try a warm hot water bottle to try and loosen up any tight muscles in the area and try to avoid lifting and bending. See how that helps.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    I have SI joint pain. Depends on the day what exercise will bother it. Running leaves me in pain for 3 weeks, so that's a big one I will not do. Sometime deadlifting bothers it sometime I can life 200lbs and be completely fine. Ive been to PT, and do those exercises daily but haven't seen a difference in pain. Recommend PT and listening to your body.
  • 0ysterboy
    0ysterboy Posts: 192 Member
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    I did a partial separation on my right SI joint a couple of years ago, boy that really hurt so you have my sympathies. I spent a lot of time in PT and it is what ultimately healed me. The key was time, stretches, and strength training. For stretches I did (and still do) piriformis stretches, bridges, cat/camel. For strength I remember doing a lot of monster walking with resistance bands. If you have SI joint pain I suggest getting to a PT to have them help you with it (and tell you if what you have is just SI joint problems vs sciatica or bone spurs. At a minimum, you need to be upping your stretching.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Does the pain happen while you’re doing a specific movement or afterwards? You might just be tight, hard to say. I’ve found release moves such as manual
    Ligament therapy or active release stretching very helpful. At 63 I just feel like the pain moves around my body from one place to another. That’s probably not far from the truth.
  • newjeans150
    newjeans150 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I think I need to go to a physical therapist, like suggested, and find out what to do, and what not to do.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    edited May 2018
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    OP, I've been battling with the same problem for years now.

    Physios always tell me that I need to strengthen that left glute, but whenever I do their exercises (e.g., clamshells), I experience that pain again (due to overactive hamstrings, IT bands, hips).

    Months of doing nothing but stretching helped me to activate that left glute, but now I am struggling on how to rid of the pain that I get from glute exercises.

    I think the only way to build up my left glute strength and rid the pain is to gradually increase the amount of reps I do.

    For example, doing donkey kicks every second day, only 5 reps. Then the next week, do 10 reps. Then the week after that, 15 reps.

    I dunno, sometimes I feel just as lost as you are OP.

    Worst thing is that I have different health professionals disagreeing with one another in regards to my imbalanced pelvis (see my thread: glute imbalance and scapular winging).
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
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    PAFC84 wrote: »
    I've got SIJ pain and it is from overly tight muscles (left glute) squeezing the joint. Its a different sort of pain to when my SIJ is actually taking too much load.

    Go and see a good Osteo to find out what the cause of the pain is; you may need to have adjustments/manipulations before you can start a stretching routine or you may need to build up muscle around the lower back/glute area.

    Either way, it is normally fixable. Your chiropractor either doesn't want to fix it because he likes you paying $40 a visit or he doesn't know how to fix it or possibly both.

    In the mean time, try a warm hot water bottle to try and loosen up any tight muscles in the area and try to avoid lifting and bending. See how that helps.

    What is the difference between an osteo and a physio or chiropractor?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Dern420 wrote: »
    PAFC84 wrote: »
    I've got SIJ pain and it is from overly tight muscles (left glute) squeezing the joint. Its a different sort of pain to when my SIJ is actually taking too much load.

    Go and see a good Osteo to find out what the cause of the pain is; you may need to have adjustments/manipulations before you can start a stretching routine or you may need to build up muscle around the lower back/glute area.

    Either way, it is normally fixable. Your chiropractor either doesn't want to fix it because he likes you paying $40 a visit or he doesn't know how to fix it or possibly both.

    In the mean time, try a warm hot water bottle to try and loosen up any tight muscles in the area and try to avoid lifting and bending. See how that helps.

    What is the difference between an osteo and a physio or chiropractor?

    They have different training, licensure, and scope of practice. Osteo has all the same training as MD plus extra in certain areas. Physio operates under MD order and referral. Chiro varies from state to state. This is all for US. Other countries are different.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Honestly based on my experience and others I know, most aches and pain problems are a complete cr4pshoot for diagnosis and treatment. Very few definitive answers.
  • PAFC84
    PAFC84 Posts: 1,871 Member
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    Dern420 wrote: »
    PAFC84 wrote: »
    I've got SIJ pain and it is from overly tight muscles (left glute) squeezing the joint. Its a different sort of pain to when my SIJ is actually taking too much load.

    Go and see a good Osteo to find out what the cause of the pain is; you may need to have adjustments/manipulations before you can start a stretching routine or you may need to build up muscle around the lower back/glute area.

    Either way, it is normally fixable. Your chiropractor either doesn't want to fix it because he likes you paying $40 a visit or he doesn't know how to fix it or possibly both.

    In the mean time, try a warm hot water bottle to try and loosen up any tight muscles in the area and try to avoid lifting and bending. See how that helps.

    What is the difference between an osteo and a physio or chiropractor?

    I'm in the UK. A chiropractor only deals with the spine. An osteo deals with the whole body. Both an Osteo and chiropractor have the training to make adjustments/manipulate joints I.e put them back into place. A physio advises on strengthening muscles and stretching exercises.

    If you have a pelvic imbalance, why can't it be corrected? How do you know you have a pelvic imbalance? Is one of your legs longer than the other? My left hip was higher than my right, my Osteo adjusted my neck and now both hips are level. My abs spent a few months readjusting to their new position. I'm now left with an overly tight left glute which I'm trying to stretch out. Too much exercise and the muscles around the left SIJ tighten up. I'm having to be very gentle and patient with it.

    The physio didn't diagnose the hip/pelvic issue and just gave me exercises that resulted in me re-aggravating the injury. The first Osteo told me it was all muscular and seemed more interested in taking money off me. My second Osteo sorted it and made various other adjustments to my spine too. Unfortunately it can be hard to find a good health practitioner.

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,979 Member
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    I injured my right SI joint doing squats improperly about 5 years ago. Still feel discomfort in the joint but no pain.

    Everyone's situation is different, so I can't recommend what kinds of exercise you can/should do. You should rely on your doc/PT for recommendations in this regard.

    FWIW, my ortho told me to just do more back exercises to strengthen the SI joint. That recommendation puzzled me at the time and I didn't really take it to heart. I didn't start doing any back exercises until I no longer felt any obvious pain in the joint and there's no longer anything I can't/won't do in terms of lifting/exercise because of this prior injury.
  • jshaw2025
    jshaw2025 Posts: 61 Member
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    I agree with those above. Go see a PT or physiotherapist.

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