Sacroiliac strain

[Keli]

Wow, thanks so much for your info.

Were your knee surgeries on the same knee, and if so, were they also on the same side as your ankle which had the torn ligaments

Yes, Yes.

I've been feeling somewhat better since I received the 1/4 in lift for my shoe.
But the pain is still there.

I am going to look into the book.

Thanks ![/quote]

[devaneym]

I read some material on the net a while ago from a PT from England by the name of Chris Norris (i believe that is his name) and the type of therapy that bill decsribes of using the bp monitor to reflect ones ability or inability to engage their TA muscles sounds like the same material i was reading about. I have a question about progressing through the exercises. Once you have mastered the prone leg lifts, and i'm jumping ahead with this as it really takes a lot of concentration to do the leg lifts when my feet are about 1 foot from my buttocks (I watch the meter very carefully and i really have to concentrate on the rate of ascent/descent of my leg and my breathing at the same time to try and stay within the prescribed range on the meter) what would be the next type of exercise that one s/b doing? I would guess that one cannot use the meter any longer but by regularly doing the prone exercise you are re-training yourself as to engaging your ta muscles so that you can engage them much better for other exercises.

[woda]

Bill,

You seem very knowledgeable, are you an MD or PT?

I was hoping you could offer an opinion on my situation. I am 24 years old, always have been athletic. In February of this year I suffered an injury, possibly exacerbated by a Chiro, and woke up unable to walk. Went to Orthopedist, got MRI, L4:L5 and L5:S1 are herniated.Since then I have done months of PT, massages, but no injections. Which has helped but not entirely fixed the problem.

On average my pain goes from 0-4 on a daily basis with the 4 being in the evening, after sitting all day at work. I have been following Dean's book for a little over two weeks and have seen some help. But not to the extent that I would like.

My pain now is in my piriformis, glute, proximal hamstring, all on the right side. I have very little LBP. When I go standing back bends I get all four of these areas aggravated. I also have pain in my calf and shin, but in contrast that pain is less frequent and less intense than the other areas. Also very minimal foot pain. I have a slight forward pelvic tilt.

I am going to get a BP cuff and start doing those exercises as well. What do you think the actual problem is, the herniated disks, piriformis syndrome, or SIJD?

Something that I have noticed that no doctor or chiro ever addressed is that when standing with feet hip width apart my knees are only about 2/3 to 1/2 that distance apart, and my right foot sits on its outer edge. Could any of this be a factor or just another issue I need to address?

Thanks,
Brian

[devaneym]

Bill,

You seem very knowledgeable, are you an MD or PT?

I was hoping you could offer an opinion on my situation. I am 24 years old, always have been athletic. In February of this year I suffered an injury, possibly exacerbated by a Chiro, and woke up unable to walk. Went to Orthopedist, got MRI, L4:L5 and L5:S1 are herniated.Since then I have done months of PT, massages, but no injections. Which has helped but not entirely fixed the problem.

On average my pain goes from 0-4 on a daily basis with the 4 being in the evening, after sitting all day at work. I have been following Dean's book for a little over two weeks and have seen some help. But not to the extent that I would like.

My pain now is in my piriformis, glute, proximal hamstring, all on the right side. I have very little LBP. When I go standing back bends I get all four of these areas aggravated. I also have pain in my calf and shin, but in contrast that pain is less frequent and less intense than the other areas. Also very minimal foot pain. I have a slight forward pelvic tilt.

I am going to get a BP cuff and start doing those exercises as well. What do you think the actual problem is, the herniated disks, piriformis syndrome, or SIJD?

Something that I have noticed that no doctor or chiro ever addressed is that when standing with feet hip width apart my knees are only about 2/3 to 1/2 that distance apart, and my right foot sits on its outer edge. Could any of this be a factor or just another issue I need to address?

Thanks,
Brian

Woda, how are you coming along with your si joint pain using the blood pressure cuff for those exercises>

[woda]

devaneym,

I have not actually got a BP cuff yet, not sure if I'm going to either.
Even though I have not been doing the BP cuff stuff, I am doing Dean's program and I have an inversion table I get on for 5 mins at a time about 7- 10 times per week.

I have been slowly improving, some days are still tough, but for the most part doing pretty good. I still have very limited right hamstring flexibility, which is extremely frustrating to say the least. I feel like if I could get that hamstring to relaxe and stretch to even 70% of what the left one can do I would be able to do so much more in my daily life and exercise wise to further improve my situation.

Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to get that hamstring to "let go"?

[devaneym]

Hello Woda, with respect to any tight muscles you should refrain from any forced stretching as that will make it worse. Try purchasing a foam roller (get 3 foot size). I use one to massage tight muscles myself. To massage your hamstrings simply sit on the roller and place your hands on the ground behind you and simply roll your hamstrings over the roller. You are using your own body weight to massage the area. Go slowly and pause when you roll over any area that seems to be sore. Sounds like you'll have no problem identifying these areas. Take your time as you massage the area.

Another suggestion i would make is to visit Jolie Bookspans web site and read all you can about lower back issues. She has some common sense approaches in dealing with these issues. There are things that we do repetitively in daily life that are harmful to our backs and her approach is to make you conscious of these movements and thus avoid them using other approaches to bending such as lunges and squats. She also discusses how to maintain neutral spine in everyday life as well as a number of ways to improve core strength and flexibility without the need of going to the gym. I personally follow her approach but you have to be patient and committed to doing the right things

[woda]

devaneym,

I have a 3 foot foam roller and do use it to massage my back and hamstrings, but the tightness is so extreme that I can not sit on the roller with my back 90 degrees to the floor.

Now understand before this injury I never used the word can't. But now I physically can't do certain things, its like I hit a brick wall and it won't go any further. So to use the foam roller I have to be reclined so far back that little weight is on the roller, and my hamstring, most of my weight is on my arms.

I will go to Julie's website, thanks for the tip.

I don't mean to sound negative, I know positive thought is the best way to get better. But I have tried A LOT of different techniques and nothing has given me relief yet.

[darius]

Bill,

You seem very knowledgeable, are you an MD or PT?

I was hoping you could offer an opinion on my situation. I am 24 years old, always have been athletic. In February of this year I suffered an injury, possibly exacerbated by a Chiro, and woke up unable to walk. Went to Orthopedist, got MRI, L4:L5 and L5:S1 are herniated.Since then I have done months of PT, massages, but no injections. Which has helped but not entirely fixed the problem.

On average my pain goes from 0-4 on a daily basis with the 4 being in the evening, after sitting all day at work. I have been following Dean's book for a little over two weeks and have seen some help. But not to the extent that I would like.

My pain now is in my piriformis, glute, proximal hamstring, all on the right side. I have very little LBP. When I go standing back bends I get all four of these areas aggravated. I also have pain in my calf and shin, but in contrast that pain is less frequent and less intense than the other areas. Also very minimal foot pain. I have a slight forward pelvic tilt.

I am going to get a BP cuff and start doing those exercises as well. What do you think the actual problem is, the herniated disks, piriformis syndrome, or SIJD?

Something that I have noticed that no doctor or chiro ever addressed is that when standing with feet hip width apart my knees are only about 2/3 to 1/2 that distance apart, and my right foot sits on its outer edge. Could any of this be a factor or just another issue I need to address?

Thanks,
Brian

just joined, but if you're still there woda, i believe your hamstrings wont relax until you reduce the herniation in your L4,L5 region. pressure on that particular part of the sciatic nerve will irritate the hamstring.