Hey everybody, it's Dr. Jo! I just got an email the other day from someone named S.S.
Could it be Sylvester Stalone?? He did say he was at work and injured his hip. Could
it be doing stunts on a new movie?? Anyway, he did say he went to his doctor and his doctor
told him he had an SI joint dysfunction. So what we are going to talk about today is how
to do some stretches to hopefully get your pelvis back in alignment with your spine.
That's what's going on with your SI joint. The SI stands for sacroiliac joint which is
the sacrum, your spine, and the iliac, your hips. So let's go ahead and lie down on your
back, and we'll get started with some of the stretches. Now the key with this one is, you
need to go to your physical therapist or doctor to find out which way your hip is rotated.
Once they find that out, they can do the technique there, and then they can give you the exercises
you need to continue to do. So this is what we are going to do to keep it in place after
you have already gone to your therapist, and you know what side it is, and they have already
fixed it one time. So let's just say that might right hip has a posterior rotation.
That is what you might hear from your therapist. So what you are going to do if it is on your
right side, which means it's going back, you are going to put your left leg down. What
you are going to do is you are going to bring your right leg up in this position. You are
going to try to push up towards your chest, but what you are going to do is put your hand
there, and push into your hand. So your leg is actually not going to go anywhere. So the
right leg is going to be pushing up towards you, and your left leg is going to be pushing
down into the floor. At the same time, you push down with your left leg and up with your
right leg. Alright for 3 seconds you are going to push as hard as you comfortably can without
holding your breath. That's the key. If your face starts turning red that means you're
holding your breath. You don't want to do that. So what I'm gonna do is I'm pushing
down with my left leg, pushing up with my right leg as hard as I can without feeling
any increased pain in my back. Pressure is okay. You are going to do that 3-5 seconds,
and do that 3 times. Once you get that done, You can bring both knees back up, then I'm
going to have you grab a belt. What you are going to do is your going to put the belt
around the front part of your legs. Wrap it up nice and tight, for Adrienne! Your going
to hold it there, and what you are going to do this time is the same kind of concept except
you are going to push out with both legs into the belt. Almost like you are opening up like
a clam shell, but the belt's not going to let you go anywhere. So you can hold onto
it if you need to if it is not a super tight belt. Push out, push out, push out for 3-5
seconds as hard as you can. Remember, don't hold your breath. You have to be able to talk
while you are doing it. Relax, and do that 3 times in a row. Okay, push out as hard as
you can. Push, push, push, push. And then relax. Alright, the next technique that I'm
going to have you do is go the opposite direction. So I've got this handy dandy turtle here to
help me out, but you can use a pillow, if you have a ball like a volleyball or basketball
or anything like that, you can use that. You can even, if you have nothing else, use your
hands in-between. This is basically so your knees squeezing your knees together. So you
are going to put something in between your knees. Same concept, squeezing in as hard
as you can. Push, push, push in while you are breathing, no holding your breath. 3-5
seconds, and you're going to do that 3 times in a row. If you do that, and it's a true
SI joint dysfunction, that will help slide it back into place, and there you go. Alright,
there you have it. Those are some stretches for your SI joint dysfunction. Sly, if it
really was you, call me, and make sure you click the like button, and comment on how
much you liked it. If you want to check out some more exercises or if you want to see
some educational videos, go to askdoctorjo.com And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope
ya'll get better soon!