SI Dysfunction
Posted by Body thinker on May 19, 2008
by Lesley Powell
“I have a training question for you. I have a client that has come to me with SI Joint problem. She is seeing a doctor who wants her to get an injection to diagnose it and at this point doesn’t know of any underlying cause for it.
I want to know what movements and exercises will be best for her. Should I work to strengthen the muscles around the SI joint? Also she is a fitness instructor who is pretty flexible & mobile in her joints. Is there anything I can do to bring some sort of stability to her ligaments/joints etc?” BBU Student
I have SI Dysfunction. I primarily got it from my dancing. Especially dancers and gymnasts are prone to this because of movements of extreme range such as splits, arabesques and attitudes can stretch the ligaments of the sacrum.
Lumbopelvic stability is essential and relieving for this condition. I have to work on this all the time. Pre-Pilates, BBU movement principles and/or Bartenieff Fundamentals(tm) are great to address this.
- Pelvic clock. Observe in 6-12 how both sides of the pelvis/sacrum is sequencing evenly on the floor. Sometimes the pelvis is rotated. The pelvic clock can educate your preferences of movement of the pelvis. Put attention to the sides not grounding as well.
- Pelvic floor, transverse abdominal & multifidus training
Thigh lift/toe taps/marching Look how they lift their legs. Many people are not gliding the thigh bone in the hip socket well. This will give the appearance of hip hiking or tightening around the femoral fold. 
Foam roll training is great for this.
It also addresses the stability of the legs. Other ideas on foam rolls- Bridging- getting the legs to do the work. Observe if the hips rise at the same time.
neutral bridging-pelvic shift forward
pelvic shift lateral-typewriter, figure 8’s, bridging with thigh lift - Sometimes mobility exercises such as full short spine are not great for my sacrum.
- Observe how they do foot work and standing. Is their weight on the outside of the foot. Training of the medial lines of the legs are also helpful.
May 30, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I have been getting great results with SI joint soreness and instability via the re-patterning techniques of Hanna Somatic Education. This work looks at the whole body, and restores lines of movement mechanics through the body. The hands on techniques can often make immediate and dramatic changes to posture and mobility, and then the client creates new neuro habits relative to those changes as they do their movement practice daily. Sometimes strengthening can be the answer to instability, but I would advise beginnng with re-patterning first, since their may be muscles in habituated contraction (from injury, repetitive use, etc) that are pulling bones away from an optimum relationship with one another.
I like some of the exercises listed here, like the pelvic clock, used in HSE also. If the motion is done very slowly and repeated until you feel increased control and sensation, then you have changed the function of the muscles involved.
May 31, 2008 at 6:09 am
I take Hanna sessions on a regular basis with Laura Gates. My body goes to heaven when I take these classes. I feel better results than when I went to a osteopath on a regular basis. Go to http://www.movementsafoot.com and online scheduling/workshops for these profound workshops.