Sacroiliac Joint Pain Recommendations

Hello Everyone,

I have a SI joint injury and I'd really appreciate whatever advice you may have as to how to rehabilitate and train around it. This post may be a little long, but I think it really has potential to help other people with SI joint pain as well.

Unlike most people with SI joint pain, I don't have hamstring flexibility issues and can easy touch my toes and touch my head to my knees. Most of the advice for SI joint rehab is centered around stretching hamstrings and increasing core strength.

I originally injured it at around March after performing a barbell squat in which my lower back just slightly rounded. After a couple weeks of rest, it was about 95% better, and I could only feel pain when performing excessive lumbar arching (like in a cobra stretch).

Then when I was performing Single Leg Squats a few weeks later, I felt the right SI joint give out and again I was faced with the same pain. It only hurt when straying from a perfectly neutral pelvic tilt at first, and after the original pain subsided, it only hurt with excessive lumbar arching.

I went through this same 95% healing & re-injury cycle, re-injuring the joint with Single leg squats, barbell squats (never deadlifts interestingly enough), & press to handstands.

I can, however, perform Bowers negatives, back levers on rings and front lever progressions without any pain at all. Only SLS, ab wheel rollouts, and anything that requires lumbar arching hurts.

Does anyone have experience with this sort of injury?

Thanks.

- Andrew

How do you know that it's an SI joint injury? Did you get it confirmed with a orthopedic doc?

Sounds like you just have some problems with lumbar flexion which may mean bulging discs and/or weak or incorrectly firing muscles there since you keep reinjuring. The conservative protocol works fairly well which is why you should probably use it.

Hey BraindX. I haven't seen an orthopedic doctor for diagnosis, but the pain is quite sharp and specific, and it occurs right in the SI joint on the right side. I just looked at some general anatomy and I can't see how it could be anything else.

By excessive lumbar flexion, do you mean that my lower back rounds when It shouldn't? I believe this would present a problem with moves likes Bower negatives and back levers wouldn't it?

Forgive me for not knowing, but what is the "conservative protocol" for rehab?

Thanks for the response.

Conservative = physical therapy

Lumbar flexion is rounding of the back.

PT usually consists of hammering core strength + loosening tight muscles.

Depending on what actually happened... back torque or SI joint slippage you could be off.

Honestly, you should get it checked.