♪ Bob and Brad ♪
♪ The two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists ♪
♪ On the internet ♪
- Well, hi there folks.
I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
- And we are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet. - In our opinion
of course, Bob.
- Today, we're gonna talk about
the best sacroiliac pain relief.
It's fast, it's a three step self-treatment process
here kinda that way. - That's right, Bob,
we're narrowed down.
- And by the way,
if you're new to our channel,
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We provide videos,
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Go to Bob and Brad, go to the giveaway section
where we're gonna be giving away a SleepOvation mattress.
So, sign up soon and you can find out who wins.
- That's right. - This is just
a sample of one, by the way, Brad,
this isn't a full one.
- Right and they come with really nice covers.
- Yeah and they're very good for pain relief
if you're having pain when you sleep.
You can also...
Oh, we're also giving away a couple of pillows,
this is a cross-sectional one.
It's actually got some springs in it,
but it feels really soft.
It really works well. - Yeah, you'd never know
there's springs in it unless you cut apart and look.
- Yeah (laughs).
All right, the contest will also be on Facebook,
it will be pinned to the top of the page.
Go to Twitter, Instagram or TikTok
if you want a 60 second version of our program.
And someday soon, we're gonna have our podcast coming out.
- The podcasts.
That reminds me of,
not Star Wars,
that other with Spock in it.
- Star Trek. - Star Trek,
he's that little pod.
Anyways, that's another story.
So Bob, the sacroiliac joint,
let's get Sam over here.
Once again,
I always elude to my mother talking about
the sacroiliac joint 50 years ago when I was a kid
and I'm pretty sure she didn't know what it was.
And I think a lot of people
today don't. - Most people don't.
They just think it's back pain.
- It's a mouthful,
but let's show people what it is.
If you look at the pelvis, okay?
The pelvis bone is actually three bones.
It's got the ilium, the ischium
and the pubis bone in the front.
And the ilium is actually connected to the sacrum,
that solid bone here that's this-
- This triangle shape.
- Yap, kind of it's the last five bones
fused together of your spine. - Sure.
- And that's where the SI,
sacroiliac joint is right there.
There is no fusing of bone between there,
at least on a normal person,
but there is a joint there,
but it's not like your elbow joint.
It has a lot of strong ligaments.
- A lot strong ligaments
and it is on both sides by the way.
- Yap and if that joint has a slight,
a little bit of motion
and it goes out of place where it shouldn't,
it can create pain.
- Especially if it does it on one side,
not at the other side.
There's an imbalance there. - Yap.
So, the whole idea is if you have some SI joint pain,
that truly is from the SI joint,
it may be slightly out
and we need to get some pressure in the right direction
to get it to go in and you'll feel it.
It feels better. - Right.
And so, this is being that you're not therapist
and you're trying this on yourself,
you don't wanna experiment.
If it hurts, you don't do it.
If it feels better,
keep doing it. - Right and we'll help.
We'll coach you along in that as we show you.
So,
typically SI pain with the exception of if you're pregnant,
there is a hormone which is-
- I think it's a relaxin.
- Right.
So, the SI joint, the ligaments, become little lax
and you can have that.
If that's your case, if you're pregnant,
I would not use this. - I wouldn't do these.
I would check on those...
You want stability more than movement.
- And if that's not the case
and you're having back pain here,
sometimes it refers to the knee,
but not past the knee typically with SI joint,
oftentimes it comes from an impact thing.
Like if you're stepping off of a taller step
and you end up landing very aggressively
and it's like, "Oh boy, that put a jolt
through my pelvis or back,"
that could cause a problem.
I've had patients that were in auto accidents
where they slide forward
and their knees bump into the dashboard.
That can create a problem.
- Another one I see, Brad,
is just people who like tend to sit uneven
for long periods of time.
Now, that's not a abrupt change,
that's a gradual change.
And I'm that person, Brad.
I've had to teach myself
'cause I don't know what it is.
When I eat breakfast and lunch,
I kinda lean on one side and I-
- That probably revolves
from your childhood, Bob. - Yeah, I'm sure of
some childhood trauma, right?
- But this kind of a thing.
Some people sit like this for whatever reason,
it kinda bothers me,
but I've seen people that are comfortable that way.
That could possibly cause it over time.
Oftentimes if your SI joint is painful,
the pain makers, the things that irritate it,
number one, it's a weight-bearing activity,
puts weight to that joint and-
- So, anytime you're putting weight through it,
that increases the pain. - Right.
So, just standing,
if you're one of those people that stand on one leg
without even realizing it,
and then you'd go to the other leg
and the pain goes away,
doesn't mean it's SI joint,
but you know, it's pointing that direction.
Walking for a distance,
that pain hurts
particularly when you put weight on that side,
when you sit down.
- Stairs.
- Yeah, up and down stairs
can irritate it. - That can make it worse.
- Typically when you sit, it feels better,
particularly you're sitting straight.
- And good posture. - And even without
being awkward like we mentioned before.
So if that fits and you think,
oh boy, I think I've got sacroiliac pain,
do this system.
All right. - Sure.
I'll make some room here, Brad.
You can start off. - Okay.
So, the first thing we wanna do is
to relax the muscles in that whole area
so that we can get that SI joint
back to where it belongs
and I'm gonna show you a few options, okay?
You can take...
Where did my tennis ball go? - Tennis ball right here,
sorry, Brad.
- You can take a tennis ball.
You know, this is a little ball.
Actually, you can get these online.
I just happened to be at a store
and it was at the checkout counter.
That's cool, it's got these little bones-
- It look like a medieval ball-
- Yeah, but that can be relaxing.
So, you're not gonna do this on your bed,
it's probably a carpeted floor.
We're gonna do it here just so you can see it better.
- Yeah, that thing light up-
- It lights up.
Take it from your child.
And you're gonna work on that.
And either the tennis ball or that.
I'm gonna use this 'cause actually, it feels better.
You're gonna roll around
and that SI joint and those muscles in that area
that can loosen up the muscles that are in that area.
And it should feel good.
- [Bob] And that's actually gonna loosen up ligaments too.
- Sure, yap.
And I would work both sides.
So, you're gonna do that.
Not too long, a minute or two.
The option I've been using
because I use this for my back is the back pod.
We've promoted this.
This is a little costly,
I probably would not buy it just for this.
If you wanna work with your back with it
as well as your SI joint, it's a good option.
It's made for it,
works very well. - By the way,
we have no affiliation with that at all.
It's just a therapist we know,
he does a good job and a use for costochondritis actually.
- Works great for me,
I have not been to the emergency room with chest pain
since I started using it regularly.
Before that, I went three times.
It was really kinda irritating my life (laughs)
when you think you have heart attack
and you don't. - Right, right,
kinda puts a little stress
on your life, yeah. - That's another video,
which we do have some available.
So, you're gonna loosen up the area.
Now, what I've just discovered in the last couple months
and I really like this.
Now, you may not have one of these either.
It's up to you if you were to wanna get one for this,
but you can use these massage guns
that have become so popular,
which we very much like.
We actually have it with our name on it, Bob and Brad.
This is a nice gun, works great.
I use it on my hamstrings
and I started using it on my SI joint.
And I'll demonstrate how I do it.
I lay on the floor
and you have to put the-
- [Bob] He lies on the floor.
- Okay.
You have to put the head on that's the air cushion one
'cause your sacrum and your SI joint,
a lot of time, it's kinda bony area.
If you put one of the harder plastic ones made for muscle,
it will not feel good.
So, put the air cushion head on.
You have to have that
and you're gonna work it
and I work it a little over the piriformis, the glute,
and boy, you can just feel it.
Now, I get over at the sacrum where the bony point is
and I don't work that area,
but if you do hit it, it does not hurt with that head on.
And what I'll do is to get more pressure
so I don't have to work my arms so much.
I just trap it between the floor
and I just put my body weight into it.
And this gun has a lot of power.
It has no problem working that.
Boy, I could do this for a while,
but I'm not gonna. - This is always a testimony
why it's great when we get a problem.
No, seriously because this is something
you'd never figure out if you're treating the patient.
I mean, you feel, you know right away,
you get feedback whether or not this would work.
Now this is a experiment of one,
but the good thing about a massage gun,
they come in so handy for all sorts of problems.
- And we've been using massage guns on our patients
for a couple of years now with really good results.
- And they've come down so much in price-
- Exactly. - All right, Brad, next.
- So, that's phase one.
You get that done.
Now, that's the longest part of the whole thing right there.
We've got to get it loosened up.
You know, actually, if get out of the bathtub
or you get out of a shower in some warm water,
if that loosens you up,
that can be a good time to go
into these next steps as well. - Sure.
You want a pillow by the way?
- No, that's okay.
I won't be here long.
The first thing we're gonna do is
it's called the muscle energy technique.
There's two options.
Again, you could do this on the bed,
but a carpeted floor is probably best.
If it's your right leg, right side that's hurting,
again, while you do this, it should feel good.
If it irritates it, you stop,
it's not the right technique.
Go like this, hold your knee,
pull it up here
and then you're gonna push the knee that way
and do an isometric hold with your arms.
Now, I'm gonna push as hard as I can.
And while you're doing it,
it should feel like good pressure in that SI joint area.
And then, you relax.
You can hold it six to eight seconds
and do it three times
as long as it feels good each time.
- If his hands weren't there,
the leg would come springing out basically.
- Yap, I'm doing this motion. - He's pushing hard.
- And I'm locking it with my arms.
I've actually had patients do it like this
that have longer arms and it's comfortable.
And typically, you do the side that...
Like I have right SI joint pain.
This always feels good on my right side.
I have tried it on this side,
nothing happens, not bad nor good.
So, I just leave it. - It is an experiment
because people might have a right innominate or left.
And so, it's always hard to say,
but one tends to be more common.
- You work with it, you'll learn your body, okay?
The next thing is you can take a stick
and we're gonna use a Booyah Stik.
You can use a cane, you can use a broom stick.
You put it between your knees
and then, this leg is gonna push that way,
this leg is gonna push that way.
And if I didn't hold it, it would go like this.
But I'm gonna hold this
and it's another muscle energy technique,
just a different way of going around it.
Same thing, hold it six to eight seconds
and do it three times
as long as it feels good on that joint.
You'll know.
- And you could alternatively try this way.
So, you're gonna push down with the left one,
this one
and you push it up with that one.
- This is really fun to work with patients
because when they do it
and it's like, "Oh, that feels good."
And they say, "Why didn't they figure that out?"
Because, well, we're the therapists.
You can't figure that.
- Then you wanna finish up
with a little squeeze together, Brad.
- Oh, good point, Bob.
And this is something more for the pubic joint,
but it can work on the SI.
Very simple,
one of those things that it can help.
You are gonna put your fist between,
you can put two fists there or one fist
and just squeeze another,
isometric squeeze
and hold that six to eight seconds
and then you're done. - You're done.
Just finish with that
each time you do one of the muscle energy techniques.
And Brad's final-
- This is the one I use commonly.
I don't even have to warm up or loosen it up,
although it helps.
I'll do this before I run
and I'll get up on a tall stool or something outside.
There's a ledge right outside my door before I go running.
And we're doing the same thing here.
It's not a muscle energy technique,
but it helps rotate that-
- Innominate bone, yap. - Yap, exactly.
You know, what a innominate stands for?
- What does it stand for? - It's a Latin term,
it stands for no name.
- Oh, funny (laughs).
- Yeah, there's no name.
- They couldn't come up with a name-
- I looked that up one late night in anatomy,
I was studying anatomy when I was in college
and I always liked to know the Latin names.
And I'll do this,
I'll hold it for, again, five seconds or so
and do it two or three times.
- And again, it might feel better
to put the other leg up if we don't know-
- Yap.
Now, I just know personally,
if I go for a walk back,
it doesn't matter as much anymore
since I've got this figured out,
I would just do this
and then just the pain would go from a three or a four,
drop it down to zero.
It was like clockwork.
So, that's the response you had,
if it makes it worse, you stop,
or if it's not any better, you can play with it some more.
- I'm trying to think what else you should get, Brad,
malady you should get to be able
to help people out there.
- Malady?
- Well, like a problem.
Like let's say,
maybe you should tear your ACL so we can-
- Yeah, yeah, don't say that, Bob.
My Gosh. - Sorry about that.
- Well, we got Chris, he's done a ACL,
so we'll get him. - Oh, there we go.
Thanks for watching, folks.
(playful tune)