SI Joint Pain: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

WHAT IS YOUR SI JOINT?

Your sacroiliac joint, or SI joint, is the connection between your pelvis (ilium) and your sacrum. It’s main job is to distribute weight and force between your upper body and legs. Your SI joints are important for shock absorption and play a large role in allowing functional movement of your hips, legs, and spine during activities like walking, running, squatting, and jumping.

WHAT CAUSES SI JOINT PAIN?

Your sacroiliac joints are typically impacted by too much, or too little movement. Too much movement can cause excess stress on the joints and the supportive structures (ligaments, tendons, fascia, and muscles) that play a role in the proper function of your hips and pelvis. Underuse can lead to inflammation and degeneration over time. Because your SI joints are so robust and have a wide network of supportive structures, pain can present in a variety of ways.

Causes of SI joint issues may include:

  • Osteoarthritis: wear and tear damage to the cartilage of the joints.

  • Ankylosing spondylitis: an autoimmune disease that causes a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects the vertebrae and joint of the spine

  • Gout: joint pain because of high level of uric acid

  • Direct injuries and Trauma

  • Pregnancy: Relaxin, a hormone released during pregnancy, makes SI joints more elastic.

  • Walking patterns: walking abnormally can cause SI joint dysfunction

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SI JOINT PAIN?

Symptoms of SI joint pain commonly present as low back, hip, and even groin pain. Pain can be felt on one or both sides of your back and buttock and can potentially radiate down your leg. SI joint pain may present in a variety of ways including:

  • Lower back pain

  • Radiating or non-radiation leg pain

  • Numbness, tingling, or weakness in your glutes or legs.

  • Pelvis/buttock pain

  • Hip/groin pain

  • Feeling of leg instability

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Not able to sit for long periods of time

  • Pain when rising from sitting to standing

TREATMENTS FOR SI JOINT PAIN

Treating Si joint pain can be tricky because it commonly mimics other types of conditions. Successful treatment depends on a proper diagnosis and finding the root cause of the problem. Traditional treatments for SI joint pain may include rest and icing, pharmaceuticals, injections, and physical therapy. These therapies commonly provide symptomatic relief but sometimes come up short for fixing the root cause, leading to recurring SI pain that comes back over and over again.

“Alternative” treatments for SI joint pain are:

  • Chiropractic care

  • Massage

  • Acupuncture

  • Foam rolling

  • Mobility & stretching

  • Nutritional therapy

HOW PROACTIVE HEALTH CAN HELP:

SI JOINT PAIN DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND PAIN RELIEF

Proactive Health providers are experts in diagnosing the root cause of pain and dysfunction. Our doctors will guide you through a full body functional movement assessment which is designed to uncover movement issues that may be contributing or causing your pain. Our main treatments for SI joint pain are hands on manual therapy combined with targeted rehab exercises focused on restoring proper function to your SI joints, low back, hips, and ankles. We strive to provide you with the tools and resources to manage your pain, so you can get back to living your active, awesome life!

If you’re experiencing SI joint pain, don’t wait. Call us at (423)779-3295 or click the button below to get started.