Sacro iliac joint
Sacro iliac problems are easily confused with low back or hip problems, so they can be overlooked as the cause of pain.
Typically, the pain from a problem with this joint will be felt in the groin, inner thigh or in the buttock. The actual joint will be tender to firm touch and activities such as sitting or getting in and out of the care or even lying on one’s side in bed are often provocative.
But there’s never a substitute for an examination. After all, groin pain also comes from hip problems, disc injury as well as pulled muscles in the area. And buttock pain is very common with low back pain. There is also the possibility that the patient has more than one problem, which proved to be the case in the case study below.
Chronic (long term) sacro iliac pain
This is due to instability in the joint, very often in women starting in pregnancy, but continuing long after. The key to successful treatment is in re establishing stability in the joint, which is quite easily done with the help of specific but subtle home exercises.
Case study
A professional woman with pain in the upper buttock that started in pregnancy nearly a year before she came to our clinic. She’d seen a physio and did a strengthening programme, but her pain had been slowly getting worse.
The pain was aggravated by sitting, lying on her side, walking up hill or up stairs, carrying or vacuuming. And it often woke her at night.
On examination, several tests pointed indicated the sacro iliac joint as being the cause of her problems, but there was also a problem with her low back.
After six appointments the pain had disappeared with a combination of treatment, including for her low back, and specific exercises for the joint.