How I overcame sacroiliitis and learned to love the bomb
As many of you know, approximately one year ago today I injured the thick weave of cartilage in my sacroiliac joint. Better known as the SI joint, it's the connection between the largest bone of the hip (the ilium) and the handful of fused vertebrae at the base of the spine (the sacrum).
I accomplished this feat through just one bad deadlift rep at 355 pounds. Rather than activating my entire trunk to manage the weight, I primarily used my back to complete the lift. These 3 seconds of error sprained the joint, pulling the ilium forward beyond its typical (and very small) range of motion. A candid lesson in the perils of poor form when lifting large.
From that point forward, I had a hypermobile SI joint that moved too much, causing a dull but persistent ache localized to my low right back and, to a lesser extent, my butt and my hamstrings.
At first I thought it was a simple sprain that would go away if I treated it gently by avoiding exercises that directly activated the low back. This soon proved incorrect, as any exercise that depended on core stabilization (all of them...) proved irritating.
Then I followed the simple wisdom to stop if something hurts, and I took six weeks from the gym in the fall of 2010 hoping to overcome the pain. While my back felt good day-to-day, I returned to the gym and immediately realized that something remained wrong.
Shortly before moving to Toronto in October, I visited one of the doctors in my GP's office who suggested that I had a pinched nerve. He told me to take it easy, did some adjustment work, and sent me on my way. No relief came from this, so I returned to the doctor, this time to see my dedicated GP who believed that my real issue was sacroiliitis. At this time, I also expressed a concern for the integrity of my spinal discs--a very serious and valid concern for anyone who has messed up a deadlift.
After getting the runaround at the local hospital, I got my xray done and confirmed that everything was alright with my spine. I also learned that I have a funny tailbone.
I moved to Canada not longer after the xray, and soon discovered from Dr. Google M.D. that the exercises I had been prescribed didn't actually address issues with the SI joint. After hours and days of researched, I eventually compiled a stretching regimen designed to:
1) Stabilize the pelvis.
2) Correct improper pelvic tilt.
3) Slowly stretch muscles that were contracting to compensate for the injury.
4) Increase blood flow to the pelvis (elliptical).
5) And keep the SI joint mobile so it does heal in a bad position (more elliptical).
After 6 months of this, combined with religious use of naproxen sodium (Aleve), my hip started to feel better, but I could feel I was at a plateau. If I did not begin the process of strengthening the muscles, I would not gain the stabilization needed to keep the ilium from once again becoming hyper-mobile.
This is when I decided to return to the gym, and dramatically cut the volume I was lifting. I went from 225 to 165 on bench, 355 to 180 on deadlift, and 265 to 160 on squat.
The methodology I've used for the last three years remained unchanged: execute proper form, and slowly raise the weights by 5-10 pounds per week if I can capably accomplish every rep in every set.
Today I am back up to 205 bench, 190 squat, and 200 deadlift. My hip very rarely bothers me, and I was recently able to sit an entire 8 hour workday without removing my wallet from my back pocket. As I continue in my program to recover strength in my back, I make sure to open every gym session with 5-7 minutes of fast movement on the elliptical to increase bloodflow to the body.
I also follow a regimen of light stretching after I am done with the gym, so I am stretching muscles that are warm and pliable, rather than the ones that would be cold and brittle if I stretched prior to going to the gym.
From here I intend to continue with my program, and from this vantage, it looks as though I've successfully overcome an injury that would plague many for years.
Thanks for reading.
I accomplished this feat through just one bad deadlift rep at 355 pounds. Rather than activating my entire trunk to manage the weight, I primarily used my back to complete the lift. These 3 seconds of error sprained the joint, pulling the ilium forward beyond its typical (and very small) range of motion. A candid lesson in the perils of poor form when lifting large.
From that point forward, I had a hypermobile SI joint that moved too much, causing a dull but persistent ache localized to my low right back and, to a lesser extent, my butt and my hamstrings.
At first I thought it was a simple sprain that would go away if I treated it gently by avoiding exercises that directly activated the low back. This soon proved incorrect, as any exercise that depended on core stabilization (all of them...) proved irritating.
Then I followed the simple wisdom to stop if something hurts, and I took six weeks from the gym in the fall of 2010 hoping to overcome the pain. While my back felt good day-to-day, I returned to the gym and immediately realized that something remained wrong.
Shortly before moving to Toronto in October, I visited one of the doctors in my GP's office who suggested that I had a pinched nerve. He told me to take it easy, did some adjustment work, and sent me on my way. No relief came from this, so I returned to the doctor, this time to see my dedicated GP who believed that my real issue was sacroiliitis. At this time, I also expressed a concern for the integrity of my spinal discs--a very serious and valid concern for anyone who has messed up a deadlift.
After getting the runaround at the local hospital, I got my xray done and confirmed that everything was alright with my spine. I also learned that I have a funny tailbone.
I moved to Canada not longer after the xray, and soon discovered from Dr. Google M.D. that the exercises I had been prescribed didn't actually address issues with the SI joint. After hours and days of researched, I eventually compiled a stretching regimen designed to:
1) Stabilize the pelvis.
2) Correct improper pelvic tilt.
3) Slowly stretch muscles that were contracting to compensate for the injury.
4) Increase blood flow to the pelvis (elliptical).
5) And keep the SI joint mobile so it does heal in a bad position (more elliptical).
After 6 months of this, combined with religious use of naproxen sodium (Aleve), my hip started to feel better, but I could feel I was at a plateau. If I did not begin the process of strengthening the muscles, I would not gain the stabilization needed to keep the ilium from once again becoming hyper-mobile.
This is when I decided to return to the gym, and dramatically cut the volume I was lifting. I went from 225 to 165 on bench, 355 to 180 on deadlift, and 265 to 160 on squat.
The methodology I've used for the last three years remained unchanged: execute proper form, and slowly raise the weights by 5-10 pounds per week if I can capably accomplish every rep in every set.
Today I am back up to 205 bench, 190 squat, and 200 deadlift. My hip very rarely bothers me, and I was recently able to sit an entire 8 hour workday without removing my wallet from my back pocket. As I continue in my program to recover strength in my back, I make sure to open every gym session with 5-7 minutes of fast movement on the elliptical to increase bloodflow to the body.
I also follow a regimen of light stretching after I am done with the gym, so I am stretching muscles that are warm and pliable, rather than the ones that would be cold and brittle if I stretched prior to going to the gym.
From here I intend to continue with my program, and from this vantage, it looks as though I've successfully overcome an injury that would plague many for years.
Thanks for reading.
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