SI Joint issues

Question
QUESTION: I have been running since my mid 20's and distance running since my late 20's. I have run 7 marathons and many half marathons along with long distance relays on trails and roads.
For the past 11 years I have dealt with SI joint issues. In the past I went to the chiropractor to get it unstuck and have been to PT for exercises. However the past 4 years it has gotten tot he point that I can barely run at all. I run 30 minutes and spend the rest of the day moving slowly. At one point just recently I tried to build up and ignore the pain and made it 90 min, but by the end my speed slowed significantly and the pain was noticeable.
In the last 2 years I have switched to riding the bike more in the nicer weather, but I love running and I want to run. I can spend a longer time on the bike, but still have pain. Is there anything I can do to resolve this issue and return to distance running without pain?

ANSWER: Hello Julie,
I'll start off with a few questions for you, if you don't mind. How did the PT and going to the chiropractor help, and have you been going back recently? They're going to be the ones who can really help you out, since they can be there in person with you. With that, have you been doing anything preventative for the pain?

As for getting rid of the pain, stretches you got from PT still will help, ibuprofen for any inflammation or soreness, and you can't "over-ice". I'm big into yoga and pilates for athletic pain, but if you plan on trying this, don't overdo it! I hate to see injuries from people stretching too much. If these aren't helping at all, you can get numbing or steroid shots to help. I've also heard of surgeries for SI joint pain, but this would be more debiliting pain. I also know of people using SI belts, but I haven't heard things about them, good or bad.

Best of luck,
Rose Brailey




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The PT and Chiropractor helped by giving me exercises to do which I do, but it does get better. It helped in the beginning to keep it from getting worse. When the SI join got worse and kept getting stuck the chiropractor would release it. I went through a period where the SI joint would get stuck every week. This was very frustrating. I lost a ton of fitness and was not able to do much of anything for 12 weeks. Once I was able to come back I increased biking and running slowly. I have not been able to come back to running more than 90 min for 4 years. I have used Ibuprofen and Aleve for inflammation which is the only thing that consistently works. The last time I went to PT was 4 years ago.
I do quite a bit of core work which uses many moves from yoga and pilates. My joints tend to be extra flexible so I try to just stretch, but not over stretch. At one point I was told I had an extra lumbar vertebrae, but I did not see it on the Xray myself.
I have read several studies that showed the SI belts did not help most of the time.
I have switched to more biking than running, but I love running so much more and like competing in running and want to work back to doing the thing I love to do most.

Answer
Julie;
I'm not a doctor, so I'm obviously not going to have anything better to say than your GP. It seems pretty clear to me, though, that this won't get better if you're just leaving it alone. The best idea I would have would be to give PT another shot, or if it bothers you enough to go in for a cortisone shot. I'd hope this will get figured out for you soon.
Best of luck;
Rose