Sacroiliac joint/and Chiropractor question.

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Lorie,
Just a quick question... I've been trying to figure out if my lbp is SI joint related or not. It's seems like it's in the l5/s1 area. Anyway - you mentioned in your post that if you were to press on the area, it would definitely cause pain. Well.... I often press and poke around trying to pinpoint the exact pain spot, but I never can. Do you think that means it's not the SI Joint and perhaps it is my l5/si bulge causing problems?
 
Hi everyone.

I really appreciate all your answers and I will make another appointment with my family physican and see what he thinks. My family doctor did not set me up with the chiropractor. I went to see him on my own as my best friend is his patient and thinks so highly of him.
But I don't want to take any chances.

I meant to tell you. The chiropractor DID take X rays and said I have a degenerative disc in my neck. ( this is in addition to my lower back pain ) He said my spine looked looked. My neck has been tight and achey for years. I am not sure how common this is. Is a degenerative disc in the neck region common? He said it was cause by an injury in the past 10 years and I have not been injured that I know of!
( I am a 53 year old female, good health, good weight, eat healthy, maybe in need of mopre exercise though )

Can the chiropractor tell from the X rays that my sacroililac joint is out of alignment? ( he told me he knew it was a little off.. and would be able to get it back through a series of adjustments.

But now I am scared to go back...

Should I request my X rays and take them to my family physician?

Do you think since the Chiro told me that it is my sacro, could it be anything else, since he does have the X rays?

Thank you for saying to ask many questions. I certainly have them. :)

I have never had back problems and it is so hard and so scary. I am starting to get depressed because it is always there.

I take tenormin for regulation of my pulse and IBUPROFEN interferes with tenormin. So the ONLY relief I am getting is from tylenol, which I try to take as minimally as possible and always with food.
I am not getting much relief.

Any additional info would be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much.

Tricia
 
Tricia, sometimes you can see on an x-ray that the disc area at a particular level is less high than the adjoining ones which leaRAB to the possibility of a bulging disc. For certain, this possible diagnosis makes it vitally important that you NOT go back to the chiro. One wrong move on your cervical area can cause a stroke or paralysis!

As for an x-ray showing a problem with the SI joint, I'm not sure but I doubt it. Certainly it won't be clear what is wrong and that's why it's so necessary that you see a spine specialist and have an MRI done of both the lurabar and the cervical areas so that you get a clear answer as to what is going on and what can be done. Surgery should always be a last resort, so if that is mentioned, be sure to get a second opinion. There are other methoRAB to deal with spine problems that sometimes work well, such as exercises, injections, and other procedures, so don't let anyone push you into drastic measures until everything else has been tried and until you have problems such as nurabness, tingling, burning sensation, or a corabination of those symptoms which would indicate nerve impingement.

I hope some of the answers you have gotten will help you, and I urge you to do some research on your computer. That will help you understand what the doctors are saying and you will have some idea of your options.

Best of luck to you......I do hope you will continue to post.

Carol
 
The si joint is closer to your hip than you spine, so I don't know if you are pressing on the SI joint or not, but a Dr. would know the spot and that is the 1st way that my Dr. dx me. As soon as he pressed that 1 spot, I jumped and he said that was the SI joint. I now can tell when I have done something to irritate it, becasue that same spot becomes extremely painful.

Have you seen a Dr. yet? I can't tell you if your pain is more likely to be from one area or the other, but I can tell you that the SI joint feels like it is in/near your hip, not your spine. I don't know it that helps, but if you see a Dr. or P/T early enough, it is something that can be popped back into place.

Lorie:angel:
 
Hi. My family physician and chiropractor told me that I am having sacroiliac discomfort. My lower back on the right side hurts so much, goes all the way around to to the top of my leg and into the right buttock and down my leg to the knee. I went for my first chiropractic adjustment yesterday and am not feeling much relief. Is this normal? Does it take several adjustments to start feeling some relief? And will I have to go several visits to heal it?

Has anyone else had problems with their sacroiliac joint?
I have no idea what caused this. The only thing I can remeraber is trying to put a recliner down with my right leg and it took about 6 attempts. I remeraber thinking, hmm.. maybe I pulled something? ( it was with the leg on the same side ) Could this have caused this?

Any info on this would be so helpful.

Thank you so much.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

RegarRAB.

Tricia
 
I think a painful SI joint can cause pain either near the spine, which would be closer to the actual joint itself, or radiating farther out toward the hip. When my SIJ pain has been bad, I have it in both places. It can also be in the buttocks, including the lower buttocks, the thighs or the groin as these nerves travel throughout the back and pelvis. When I had my radio-frequency ablation of the SI joint, they stimulated the nerve prior to ablating it and I could feel the pain in all of these different places. Hope this is helpful.
 
Well who knows if that is what you have, maybe there right but who knows if its not coming from a nerve in your back, there are lots of them. The chiropracters always say its from this and that and just need adjustments. They told me it was a tilted pelvis, sooner to realize my MRI shows lots of damage from my accident, a year later what about my tilted pelvis, seems to be out of the picture now.
 
Hi. Well, if I were you, I would make an appt to see a spine specialist. You should have an MRI done to determine exactly what is causing your pain. Until then, I would strongly urge you NOT to make any more appt.s with the chiro. Chiro's have their place, especially when dealing with muscle problems, but they are not good with spines. In fact, the wrong move can cause serious problems including rupturing a disc or causing paralyzation.

Talk to your family dr. about referring you to someone who specializes in the spine such as a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic spine specialist who limits his practice to the spine only. They are best at making the right diagnosis and coming up with the treatment that is right for you. It may not be your SI joint at all.....after all, there have been no testing to confirm that, so the wrong therapy such as a chiro, can be harmful.

Best of luck.

Carol
 
I don't think an SI joint problem can be seen on an Xray. I know that I never had an Xray done for my dx. and I think that I would have, if it could tell us what was wrong. I know that a Dr. can have you lay on the table and they can look at your legs and hips. One side will be longer than the other. They can also have you sit on the table, then they go behind you and place their hanRAB on both of your hips. When you move your pelvic forward and back (like doing a crunch from a sitting position), if your SI joint has popped out, it will not move (hence the name, "frozen SI joint").

I think the best thing you can do right now, since you can't take anti-imflamatory meRAB. is to use ice on the area for 15 mins. at a time, and to be careful not to bend, lean or twist. Someone on the boarRAB, once told me to wrap some plastic wrap around my waist and go through a day with it on. It will make you realize every time that you move at your waist. What ever you do, do not do any excercises that involve crunches or twisting. If you by chance do yoga or palates...do not get on all 4's and do those excercises. All of these things will irritate the SI joint even more. If you do this and take notes as to how youre feeling each day, you will be able to take that to the spine specialist and it will give them a good starting point.

Please take care of yourself and keep us posted.

Lorie:angel:
 
Well, I have had back pain since I fell 5 1/2 yrs. ago. The neurosurgeon - PM Drs., Chiro's and everyone in between have said it was this and that and been treated for everything. Some of the treatments helped for 3 or 4 days...and others never did. Surprise..it turns out it was my SI joint I hurt when I fell. Nothing has helped...I take pain medication which dulls the pain..which goes from my back down the outside of my right leg/into ankle and along the outside of my foot into the little toe... Oh that darned little toe..can't tell you how many nights it has just driven me crazy. I am having my SI joint fused (by a specialist in SI joints) in late June. I have tried everything else...and from what I've been told..this feels like the right choice for me. I would make an appt. with a neuro..or ortho...have the MRI and see what shows up. I would not let anyone work on me with out doing that to begin with. Good luck to you...and please...ask lots and lots of questions..it helps to be really informed...and any question you ask on this board is a good question.

Sage
 
Yes, the pain is in all of those places. It wraps around my hips and down my legs and electrical shooting pains down my buttocks. I may have misread the original question, but I was thinking that the question was, where the actual SI joint is located and my understanding is that it is between the spine and hips, but slightly closer to the hips. But yes, the pain travels throughout the back, legs and buttocks. Have you found anything that helps your pain?

Lorie:angel:
 
Hi Foster21, I am still struggling with my pain, but the thing that has help me the most has been radio-frequency ablation of my right SI joint. I have had this done twice so far at a pain treatment center. I feel the first procedure essentially gave me my life back. Unfrtunately, this is not a permanent cure (lasts 9-18 months), and I guess I am still searching for the one thing that will "cure" my back. I started seeing a chiropractor who adjusts my back using a machine called a Proadjuster. I can't decide if I think it helps or if it's quackery. Please share anything you find to be helpful. Thanks. Lisa
 
I had 2 spinal fusions and during the first one my SIJ was fused also.

I can't even imagine to go to Chiro with this problem. I am not a DR by any means, but I can tell you this: you go to Chiro with somethim minor, but if it's a serious problem, you need a good Spinal Ortho. How do you know what is going on with your back if you didn't have any MRI or CT done?
I would be very careful with this matter because I read many stories when people who did not realize how serious their back problems were went to Chiro and problem insteat of getting better - got worse...

Best of luck to you...:angel:
 
I have had a frozen SI joint, for a few years. It is easy enough to diognose an SI problem. 1st, 1 leg will be longer than the other. Also, the area of pain for the SI joint, is really specific and it is not like some of the other back issues that I have, where some movements create one type of pain and then moving in a different position it is a different pain. With the SI joint, it will be below your waist and above your buttocks and it will be between your spine and your hips. When you press on that area, it will make you just about jump out of your pants and the pain is exacperated by any bending, leaning or twisting at your waist. If this is what the Dr. suspects that you have, he can give you a diognostic injection, into the SI socket area and if you get temp. relief, this is the problem. If it doesn't work, then you probably have something else wrong with your spine. If a spine Dr. diognosis you with SI joint problems, a P/T can teach you simple excercises that you can do, to pop the joint back into its socket. If you let it go too long, without tightening up that socket, you can end up like me with it being "frozen", meaning that even though it can be popped back into place, by soneone (such as a P/T) that knows how to do it...but if it is frozen, it will pop right back out, as soon as you lean forward again. I can no longer eat at a table like a "normal" person, because every time I have to lean over my plate, so that I don't spill my food down my front, the SI area swells up and I have to ice myself down.

As others have said here, I would not use a Chiro. until you know for sure that this is what is wrong. I do know people who love Chiros. but I also know others who have been hurt even further, by going this route. So, just make sure that a spine Dr. 1st checks you out.

Lorie:angel:
 
I had trouble with my sacroilliac about 2 years ago, all I did was bend over a bit to make the bed, after that I could barely walk, and the pain also went into my butt, it was horrible. I did go to the doc and had x-rays and went to an orthopedic doc. He diagnosed me. Also said there was nothing I couod do for it and that it is very common in women. After about a month, it did go away. I do also have a bulging disc in my neck, I am currently getting epidurals for it. They do help big time. I also get trigger point injections in my neck between the time I have to wait for my next epidural, they also help. The trigger point injections are lidacaine. Hope you get better.

SUNNY
 
Hi everyone. I am new to this particular board, but not new to SI pain. I have DJD in both SI joints, and the degeneration can clearly be seen on a CT Scan. The pain is lower spine, buttock to pelvis to hips, but I don't believe legs are involved. I am also about to have a 2 level fusion, L-4/5, L5/S1, and the sciatica pain from L4/5 is quite different from the SI pain.

So, I agree with everyone else...get an evaluation from a good spine specialist and make sure you're treating the right thing.

This looks like a wonderful group, btw...and I sure hope I can come here for support as I recover from the fusion.
 
Paula-Nice to have you on the boarRAB, although I wish it weren't for the reason of having health issues;). Please feel free to come back any time to ask questions or to give others advice from your experience. We all learn a lot from what the others have gone through. If you have any questions about the fusion surgery, I have had 2 fusions (l3-5) in the last few years.

Have a good day,
Lorie:angel:
 
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