Most people are completely unaware of their sacroiliac joint until it starts to cause them pain. Then it becomes hard to ignore. But what leads to pain in the SI joint, and what can be done about it?
1. Imbalance in the pelvic floor
Often, there is an imbalance in the muscles of the pelvic floor that affects the sacrum. This can be correct with releasing the tension on the side where it is too great, and increasing tone through exercises on the side that it too weak. Which is which can be figured out through osteopathic evaluation. This includes the gluteus maximus, which can be thought of as the backside of the pelvic floor.
2. Tension in the Uterus
The uterus connects to the sacrum via the uterosacral ligament. Thus, uterine tension can affect the sacrum quite directly. Often when the traditional sacral adjustments will not hold, releasing the tension in the uterus abdominally just above the pubic bone will give more lasting results.
3.Tailbone Misalignment
A fall from as far back as childhood can tweak the tailbone into a funny position. As long as the tailbone is off, it will continue to pull the sacrum out of position.
4. Foot Issues
Because of the way the body stacks, what goes on below affects everything above it. So if your having problems with your sacro iliac joint, you’ll want to make sure that everything in your foot and ankle is articulating correcting.
5. Muscular Imbalances
It is important to make sure that the body is balanced, left to right, bottom to top and front to back. Getting evaluated and given a program to balance your bodies tone is key for helping to support the positioning of the sacrum. One of the most common is the glutes not doing enough of the work and the low back having to take over.
These are just some of the more common issues to look for. Hopefully this has been of use as a starting point in understanding sacroiliac pain.
In Health,
Eli Mead