It is tough to determine, am I having back pain, hip pain, or sacroiliac pain? To the average person they all may seem very similar because they are all in very close proximity to one another. They all have very distinct presentations and as a chiropractor, my job is to be able to tell these differences apart. Why is that important? Isn't pain just pain? Unfortunately, no. The joints that I would adjust as well as the exercises I'd give you to treat lower back pain vs sacroiliac joint pain are different and if you were to perform the wrong set of exercises, that will likely exacerbate things.
We'll stick with sacroiliac pain for the purpose of this post. This pain is felt on the back side, below the belt line. It can be felt on both sides however it is typically felt more on one side compared to the other. One thing about this joint is that the pain it produces is very commonly confused with being sciatica. The reason is these joints can actually "refer" pain as far down as the knee. Proper assessment is very important in determining sacroiliac pain vs sciatica. Another aspect of the sacroiliac joints which makes them unique is that you cannot move them separately from one another. Take your elbows for instance, you are able to move one elbow without moving the other; You are not able to do that with your sacroiliac joints, if you move one, the other will move. Sitting and driving are two activities which aggravate sacroiliac pain. People with sacroiliac pain commonly state that the act of getting up is bothersome however once up and moving it actually feels better.
The goal when someone is having sacroiliac joint pain is to minimize the stress and sheer the joints are exposed to. Aside from being adjusted, there are ways to sit down and stand up, ways to drive, ways to sleep, and ways to move to help minimize the amount of discomfort you are experiencing. If you think you're having this kind of pain, give the office a call!
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