What Does SIJ Pain Feel Like?
Symptoms may include:
- Pain on one side of the lower back or buttock
- Discomfort when standing, walking or climbing stairs
- Pain when changing position or getting out of a chair
- Symptoms extending into the hip, groin or back of the thigh
- Difficulty remaining in one position for a long time
These symptoms are not specific to SIJ dysfunction. Similar pain may arise from the lower back, hip, muscles, nerves or other health conditions.
SIJ dysfunction is a term commonly used to describe pain associated with the sacroiliac joint—the joint connecting the pelvis to the lower part of the spine.
Pain in this area can resemble lower back, hip or nerve-related pain. For this reason, pain near the SIJ does not automatically mean the joint is the source of the problem.
Treatment Should Follow Assessment
SIJ dysfunction should not be diagnosed from pain location or pelvic posture alone. A useful treatment plan considers other possible causes, monitors meaningful changes and refers for further assessment when necessary.
SIJ-related pain may develop after trauma, repeated loading, pregnancy or a change in physical activity. Inflammatory joint conditions may also affect the area.
However, it is often difficult to identify one exact cause. Claims that the pelvis is simply “out of alignment” or that one leg has become shorter should be treated cautiously. Pelvic position cannot be diagnosed reliably from posture or palpation alone.
Assessment may include your health history, symptom behaviour, movement and a group of pain-provoking tests.
No single movement or hands-on test can confirm SIJ pain. The therapist should also consider the lower back, hips and nervous system before deciding whether the SIJ is a likely contributor.
Medical assessment may be recommended if the symptoms are persistent, severe or unclear.
Massage may help reduce sensitivity or muscle tension around the lower back, hips and buttocks. It may also make movement feel more comfortable temporarily.
However, massage cannot reliably “put the SIJ back into place.” Treatment should focus on symptoms and function rather than attempting to correct an assumed pelvic misalignment.
Depending on the presentation, a treatment plan may include:
- Appropriate massage or manual therapy
- Gradual return to comfortable movement
- Strength and movement exercises
- Modification of aggravating activities
- Reassessment of pain and daily function
The response to treatment should guide what happens next.
Seek medical assessment if the pain follows significant trauma or is accompanied by fever, unexplained weight loss, progressive weakness, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin.
Persistent morning stiffness, pain that regularly wakes you at night or symptoms affecting both sides may also require further investigation.
Your Body Talks. Learn to Listen.
When you feel pain, what’s your first reaction?
Ignore it? Take something? Stretch it? Massage it? Or wait three months and hope it magically disappears?
Be honest. We’ve all tried the last one.
Ask it. Even if you think it’s a ridiculous question.
Someone else has probably wondered exactly the same thing.
