SI joint inflammation / sacroiliitis?

[threeonethree]

I am 32 years old and suffering from low back pain (area around the top of the hip on left side). Some NSAIDS for a few days help the pain go away to a large extent but it comes back a few days later if i have bad form while sitting. It has been more than a month and the injury has not healed completely. I have tried various stretches and light deadlifts to no avail.

Is this the start of a chronic problem and does it ever heal ? And what is the cure?

[bjvinson]

I had a bout of this after an extended layoff. It bothered me so much that I went to a chiropractor a couple of times which did make it feel better. Sometimes deadlifts aggravated it. I continued to deadlift and squat and low and behold as I got stronger, the pain gradually went away. Now the pain is gone.

I’m not a doctor and I’m a lot older than you are so I can’t be sure that what you are describing is the same thing that was bothering me but it sure sounds like it.

i think the cure is to get stronger. I slowly added weight to my deadlift and the problem disappeared.

hope this helps

[Luke S]

I had a few bouts of sacroiliac pain, one of which lasted for more than a month. It hurt all the time, exercise made it hurt too but rest didn't make it better. What did make it better was the simple unilateral kneeling hip flexor stretch.

[NoStepOnSnek]

I’ve dealt with SI joint issues for years. When I fisrst got into SS, it made squats and deadlifts difficult. But, after a while, I learned that the only thing that really gave me any long term relief was continuing to do squats and deadlifts.

Sometimes it was a real challenge to get to depth. Sometimes it made me shift improperly and put strain on the adductors. I kept chugging away and it’s pretty much a non-issue now.

The best way I can think to describe it is that as I added the muscle that’s supposed to be there, the muscles kinda pulled everything back into the correct alignment.

Just this old guy’s experience.

[ajwsmith]

Have you been lifting for awhile or are you new to it? Does it hurt while you lift or afterward? Are you in the most pain first thing in the morning, or does it gradually come on throughout the day?

I dealt with a very similar issue for several years — pain right at my SI joints on both sides that ranged from a sharp, needle-like pain to a deep ache. Couldn't sit and couldn't lift without pain. I was a novice lifter at the time and was desperate to train, so I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of it: physical therapy, chiropractors, spinal surgeons, steriod injections, MRIs, rheumatologists, lifting, not lifting. I don't mean to scare you, but I even had a rheumatologist diagnose me with ankylosing spondylitis and that freaked me out for a few months before a second rheumy said I didn't have it.

Nothing changed until I got a Starting Strength coach to look at my lifting form. I did that through Starting Strength Online Coaching (which I still do), but you could easily do it on this very forum for free. I was *absolutely certain* I was doing the lifts correctly until my SSOC coach looked at my videos and I learned my spine was wayyyy overextended on every single lift (except the bench, oddly, when you actually want more extension). There were other problems, of course, but the overextension was the real pain trigger. It took me a few months to clean that up, but six months after starting the program with perfect form, my once-debilitating back pain had decreased almost entirely. If you're a novice lifter and you've never had a coach look at your lifts, it's worth doing that. And get an honest-to-god Starting Strength coach deeply familiar with how you're trying to squat. I got messed up by otherwise-competent lifting friends who dind't know the method.

I still get pain down there sometimes, but I don't panic and trust that it will subside. It always does after a day or two, and it never interferes with my training. If you want practical stuff: When it really tightens up on me in the gym, I do some moderate foam rolling, mashing the very very top of my butt (the meaty part of the ass just distal to the tailbone) and along the underside of the pelvic girdle. That usually does the trick. I also avoid carrying things in front of me as much as I can: opening windows can give me little tweaks.

Since you asked about whether it's a chronic problem, you need to read this article immediately, if you haven't already: Aches and Pains | Austin Baraki. Parse every sentence, read every footnote, and click every link in every footnote. This piece was a gamechanger for me. You are not broken, and you will lift again.

[threeonethree]

Have you been lifting for awhile or are you new to it? Does it hurt while you lift or afterward? Are you in the most pain first thing in the morning, or does it gradually come on throughout the day?

I dealt with a very similar issue for several years — pain right at my SI joints on both sides that ranged from a sharp, needle-like pain to a deep ache. Couldn't sit and couldn't lift without pain. I was a novice lifter at the time and was desperate to train, so I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of it: physical therapy, chiropractors, spinal surgeons, steriod injections, MRIs, rheumatologists, lifting, not lifting. I don't mean to scare you, but I even had a rheumatologist diagnose me with ankylosing spondylitis and that freaked me out for a few months before a second rheumy said I didn't have it.

Nothing changed until I got a Starting Strength coach to look at my lifting form. I did that through Starting Strength Online Coaching (which I still do), but you could easily do it on this very forum for free. I was *absolutely certain* I was doing the lifts correctly until my SSOC coach looked at my videos and I learned my spine was wayyyy overextended on every single lift (except the bench, oddly, when you actually want more extension). There were other problems, of course, but the overextension was the real pain trigger. It took me a few months to clean that up, but six months after starting the program with perfect form, my once-debilitating back pain had decreased almost entirely. If you're a novice lifter and you've never had a coach look at your lifts, it's worth doing that. And get an honest-to-god Starting Strength coach deeply familiar with how you're trying to squat. I got messed up by otherwise-competent lifting friends who dind't know the method.

I still get pain down there sometimes, but I don't panic and trust that it will subside. It always does after a day or two, and it never interferes with my training. If you want practical stuff: When it really tightens up on me in the gym, I do some moderate foam rolling, mashing the very very top of my butt (the meaty part of the ass just distal to the tailbone) and along the underside of the pelvic girdle. That usually does the trick. I also avoid carrying things in front of me as much as I can: opening windows can give me little tweaks.

Since you asked about whether it's a chronic problem, you need to read this article immediately, if you haven't already: Aches and Pains | Austin Baraki. Parse every sentence, read every footnote, and click every link in every footnote. This piece was a gamechanger for me. You are not broken, and you will lift again.

Thank you very much.

I have been lifting for a few years on and off and I did feel that i was over extending my spine on some lifts. I did try to fix the problem in absence of a coach(no SS coach in my country) by posting some videos and also asking for help from local trainers but my sacroiliitis diagnosis proves i wasn't successful. Maybe the over-extension was in my posture outside of the gym as well. And Maybe it was my sitting posture. I am not sure what caused it.

The pain does not discriminate on the time of the day. It is constant. Sometimes it is prickly and needle like when getting in or out of a chair and other times it is just a dull ache. It is most felt on the top of the ass cheek on the left side. Though it is not debilitating at the moment , I am very scared as to not provoke it further. I took a month off from gym and did daily stretches but that had no effect except getting 5 pounds of belly fat. Then i went back to the gym and dropped the weight way way down(careful not to aggravate it in absence of a qualified coach). But that did not have any effect as well till now.

I did these exercises for a month two times a day to no effect till now
http://www.sld.cu/galerias/pdf/sitio...(si)_joint.pdf

It does not bother me when i keep walking slowly, but only when i sit down for a while or stand up for some time. This morning while getting out of bed I also felt a "little tweak" as you described.

If i had a qualified coach i may have not suffered this problem and without one i may aggravate it further

[threeonethree]

Hi

This shit though better hasn't healed. It's fine while walking but there is discomfort when I sit.

Any ideas on doing the program with this injury?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Back Pain and Back Strength | Mark Rippetoe

[ceast]

FWIW I had chronic dull lower back aches around my SI joint. Various PT work (stretching, core, etc) from different therapists did little. It wasn't until I started SS with the LBS that it improved. It still aches a little here and there from day to day stuff, but squats always make it feel better.

[threeonethree]

Hi mark

I am about to start the program again.
I am very worried right now because the nagging ache in my si joint and pelvis Hasn't gone in 3 months. I have taken NSAIDS for 1 month but it persisted. I also saw a PT for a week to no avail. Do you think this is a chiropractic situation? If yes, would restarting the program without seeing one make the problem worse or i should start the program anyway? Would the chiropractor be able to magically pop/align my joint and make me feel better ? Or it doesn't matter if I see a chiropractor or not? I am asking this because I do not have any good chiropractor near my area.

How do we confirm this? Should I get an MRI and post the details? Or just start the program anyway? In that case should I be making any modification to the program as per my situation.

I have done the reading but I'm no expert and have no access to a coach and it would be nice to hear from you because I'm in a emotional and physical wreck right now...