Workshop 1B: sacroiliac joint pain & piriformis syndrome-five daily exercises

(It's hard to make sense of internet advice on S-I pain and piriformis spasm...)

(workshop overview…)

Picture shows the single-legged squat, one of the five daily exercises

Why the need for a set of simple and doable of exercises?

Over the past 20 years I've found that the professional and institutional internet advice on sacroiliac pain and piriformis spasm, while confidently delivered, is hard to make sense of and (for me at least) doesn't seem to work. I mean no disrespect. I merely share my experience.

There has to be a better, simpler way. (Here it is).

If you take nothing else from the video, do single-legged squats daily! (10 on one side and 10 on the other). This is nature's way of resetting the joint to alleviate sprain pain and muscle spasms.

With time, your posture and movement will restore themselves. Walking up and down hills will help the process.

Exercise notes:

• The sequence starts with strength work (because nothing beats strength for protecting and healing a grumpy joint).

• It then moves onto stretches performed with a thrust or glide that pulls the SI joint into a happier configuration*.

• After the area is warmed up and the pain response is damped, self-massage, with the use of a wall and a ball, is made more comfortable.

*Refer to diagram 1 of Don Tigney: Dysfunction of the Sacroiliac Joint and Its Treatment, at: https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519...