Mullumbimby Chiropractic
Modern Integrative Chiropractic Care

What is Sacroiliac Syndrome?

The sacroiliac joints (SI joints) are the large paired joints that link the triangular shaped sacrum to the hip bones. These joints transfer the body’s weight from the sacrum, at the very base of our spine, to the hip joints whilst allowing for just a small degree of vitally important movement to help absorb shock.

Dysfunction at the SI joints causes a huge proportion of the complaints that we find at Mullumbimby Chiropractic, and it is one of the most common causes of low back pain.

I also believe it is one of the most incorrectly diagnosed and treated joint problems in the body for the reasons provided below.

The SI joints are unique in the body in that they are stabilised only by ligaments. If you have a look at the triangular shaped sacrum you can see that gravity is trying to drive this bone into the hip bones and drive them apart.

Very strong ligaments usually keep this movement in check but in the event of an injury, or wear and tear over time, these ligaments can begin to fail and become inflamed. When ligaments fail, they take far longer than muscles to repair due to their relatively poor blood supply. It is not unusual for a serious SI joint injury to take up-to 6 weeks to settle down.

One of the great aspects of the S.O.T system used at Mullumbimby Chiropractic is that we use techniques that correct the joint when it becomes unstable (Category 2) and begins moving too much.

Standard chiropractic techniques are great at getting joints moving when they are stuck but are often of little benefit when the joints become unstable. In this situation the S.O.T system used by Mullumbimby Chiropractic becomes extremely valuable. Mullumbimby Chiropractic specialises at treating SI joint dysfunction.

Chiropractic Management of Sacroiliac Joint Pain

We use specific neurological tests to try and obtain a chiropractic listing of the distortion in the structure.

Treatment usually consists of placing pelvic blocks in specific places and allowing the body some time to adapt to the input. Cross-friction on the inflamed ligaments can aid their repair.

Deep tissue-work in the pelvic stabilising muscles is usually required seeing as the body can go into lock-down when it has suffered injury.

While the joint is healing it is also very important to avoid bending and twisting forces. Although injuries to this joint can be very painful they’re debilitating effects are less long term when compared to disc injuries.