My brother John Frank, physical therapist and fellow lover of movement is back on the show today to talk about the SI joint! I love having John on as a guest, because I can ask him anything and he always has something helpful and educational to say. We are talking about the SI joint because it receives a lot of complaints, yet the area itself is really quite misunderstood.
What is the SI joint?
The sacroiliac joint is found between the main pelvic bone and the sacrum, creating an almost triangle form. If you look at a person’s back, you’ll see two dimples, that is the back of the SI joint.
What have you found is the cause of this locale pain?
It’s more likely the this pain is caused by joints within your lower back, but not necessarily from the SI joint itself. There is a lot of research showing that the SI joint does not move much. The little movement that it has can help dissipate the force that walking and running can cause, but it’s built mainly for stability.
What would you suggest for someone who sits a lot and is having pain in their SI joint?
They might be hyperextending their lower back, if they are sitting a lot. It could really be a lot of different things. A lot of times with back pain, we don’t know the exact structure, but we know with forces and postures can create that, so we can look at their movement patterns to help figure it out in order to minimize the damage.
If you’re overworking one area, but underworking another, can that imbalance create pain?
I would say a lot of the pain around the SI joint is soft tissue. There’s pain receptors in all of the tissue surrounding that joint. Too much movement or force not being absorbed elsewhere, can impact the SI joint.
What are some interesting facts and features about the SI joint?
The research lately has been validating that the SI joint doesn’t move, even though in the past that wasn’t necessarily thought to be true. The SI joint does absorb and dissipate shock throughout the body, but it’s not the only place that does that. This joint is there to support us.
Resources:
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