Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

By Robert M. Cohl, DC

Cohl Chiropractic Center

. https://cohlchiropractic.com/

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Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is a main contributor to lower extremity injuries and persistent running musculoskeletal problems. Typical signs and symptoms are unilateral pain, dull in character and usually located over the buttock. Pain and/or burning can wrap around the hips or right into the groin area.
If there is a nerve root inflammation involved, there will be intermittent or persistent discomfort radiating to the posterior and side of the leg, into the calf, shin, ankle and for foot. Nerve root and/or lumbar disc inflammation will always demonstrate specific motor weakness to certain muscles in the legs, though sometimes it is subtle. Sensory disturbances like a deep muscle ache into the hamstrings is very typical, whereas pain only in a tight hamstring when stretched, will stay only in the muscle and will not move up into the buttocks.
Many specialists in sport medicine focus on the pathology of the low back as the pain contributor to this problem and occasionally arthritis changes in the spine. These associated pathologies always have an involved dysfunctional sacroiliac joint.
There are muscles syndromes that contribute to sacroiliac joint problems. Most of the time the involved muscles, when tested kinesiologically, are weak, which contributes to the instability of the pelvic area. This spills over to faulty movement patterns in gait analysis in hip flexion and extension and lateral hip instability.
Muscle imbalance is rarely the primary cause, although muscles do complicate a true sacroiliac joint problem. Most standard orthopedic and neurological tests come up short with an analysis of primary sacroiliac joint condition.
For years, both osteopathic and chiropractic physicians have focused on neurogenic/dysfunctional and biomechanical factors in sacroiliac joint syndromes.
The lower extremity works as a closed kinetic chain. In other words, stress to the sacroiliac joint can start with faulty foot biomechanics, i.e. over pronation, as a dysfunctional structural contribution. Likewise a fixed sacroiliac joint will irritate the sciatic nerve and inhibit theGluteus Maximums (hip extension), which makes the psoas muscle (hip flexor) hypertomc and cause hip tendinitis.
For comparison, a knee problem has to be addressed locally, as well as down to the foot and up to the back. Knee problems (not including traumatic) can start in the foot (structural) and/or low back (spinal-functional).
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