I’ve been experiencing chronic pain in my left SI Joint. The pain is a result of a chronic overuse injury that I incurred this June while working a manual labor job. As an aside, I had a previous history of back and hip injuries prior to this injury (which also affected a lumbar disc and an associated nerve).
The pain itself is a somewhat sharp sensation in the upper-inner “quadrant” of my left glute region. It has been fairly consistent and mild, and is usually triggered by sitting. However, there are exercises that I’ve tried to perform, including the deadlift and weighted plank, that cause me days to weeks of pain and discomfort when I try to perform them with even light loads. Additionally, I imitate an inversion table by hooking my legs around a pull-up bar, and frequently have a “pulling” sensation in my left SI Joint. I have been assuming that this is helpful if my SI joint is tight, or counterproductive if my SI Joint is loose, although I have had no way of determining whether it is tight or loose.
About a month ago, I had been receiving some chiropractic care. The practitioner that I saw told me that both of my SI joints were tight, based on X-Ray. Based on some skeptical feedback of some forum members, I became suspicious of his diagnosis, and was concerned that I actually had a loose left SI joint and that his treatment would make my condition worse, so I’ve stopped treatment.
I have found that I can keep my pain and discomfort to a minimum by avoiding certain lifts and performing remedial exercises consistently. I put a lot of effort into correct biomechanics, including tissue quality, keeping muscles at the right length, proper movement patterns, adequate core activation, etc. However, keeping my discomfort to a minimum is not enough for me to be satisfied.
Does anyone have any experiences or advice related to my current condition? Even advice on how to diagnose a hypermobile vs. hypomobile SI joint would be very helpful, as I would be able to determine which activities I’m doing are counterproductive.
The only intiutive solution that I have thought of is to try to “balance” my left-leg and right-leg mechanics.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
