Joint, muscle and nerve pain in the low back

Injury to the Sacro-iliac joint (near the dimples on a baby's bottom!) is thought to be a common cause of pain. Injury can occur simply whilst leaning forward slightly and twisting sideways, for example taking washing out of the washing machine or gardening! One common pattern of injury occurs when the driver of a vehicle places one foot on the brake before a collision. A similar mechanism occurs with a fall on one buttock. The force again causes a twisting motion to the pelvis and may injure the ligaments around the joint.

What does the condition feel like?

The most common symptoms from Sacro-Iliac joint dysfunction are low back and buttock pain. The pain may affect one side or both Sacro-Iliac joints. The pain can spread across the pelvic region and radiate down the leg all the way to the foot and may be confused with a disc problem in the lumbar spine. The pain may also radiate into the groin area. People often feel muscle spasm in one or both of their buttocks muscles.

Problems with the Sacro-Iliac joint may make sitting difficult. Pain in one Sacro-Iliac joint may cause a person to sit with that buttock tilted up. It is usually uncomfortable to sit flat in a chair. Walking generally eases the pain. Sacroiliac pain is typically worse with standing and walking and improved when lying down, but not always. 

Treatment

Patients often work with osteopaths to relieve their pain. After evaluating your condition, an osteopath can assign positions and exercises to ease your symptoms. They are trained in manipulative techniques that attempt to treat the pain by manipulating the lower spinal segments. An expert may also be able to show you how to adjust your posture yourself and ease the symptoms quite dramatically. Also a  variety of self help methods can be demonstrated, to help you to help yourself prevent future episodes of possible pain.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Therapy Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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