Sacral Belt for SIJ joints

[kat]

PT wants me to order a sacral belt to wear for six weeks to hold my SIJ joint in alignment as I heal from surgery 4 months ago.
Some of my muscles are too weak and some are too strong and my SIJ is currently the problem. I can't keep it in alignment and it is causing burning and numbness.

Do any of you have this belt?
Did it work for you?
Did it make your muscles weak since it was holding you up instead of your muscles holding you up?

I don't understand any of this pelvis stuff so if you have no answers I completely understand.
I just wanted to ask.

Happy thanksgiving and loves to you all

[pianogal]

when I first got PNE this was the first thing my hubby (PT) wanted to try on me. I tried it but I still had PNE pain and you know my whole story 2 surgeries thus far.

I might try it again now post surgery...You can do similar things with any belt at home actually.

a few weeks ago when I had pain standing, I put on a tight belt (positioned it like a sacral belt) and the pain in my labia went away while standing. but then later that day I had a huge pain flare.

it's trial and error.

see if it works for you. It sounds like it could be beneficial

You just put it on really tight and it does feel kinda nice to get some help to your muscles

[Faith]

Yes, I wear a serola SI belt http://www.serola.net I had two different physiatrists (physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors) recommend it to me. It does help with my sacral pain. I am a nurse and try to work one day a week and it definitely helps when I have to be on my feet all day. I can be having pain and put it on and my pain will decrease pretty quickly. I do sometimes feel like the muscles in the top of my butt get sore. I worry too that it makes my muscles weak so I have started only wearing it when I REALLY have to. Sometimes I wear it when going for walks, but lately I've been trying not too and it doesn't seem to increase my pain too bad. I think it would probably be good for you post op until your muscles get a little stronger.

[kat]

thank you

I have decided against the belt.
I'm 4 moths out from surgery and feel I am over reacting to the alignment issue.
My alignment was getting better each week and then I held it for 2 weeks.
I was feeling so good that I (snuggled too much) on my boyfriend.
kneeling over him like that was probably more than my body was ready to handle.

I just needed to feel like a normal woman for my sanity.
I told my boyfriend that he is in charge of keeping me calm so I don't (over do it) again and feel this will help me.

Thank you for supporting me as I over react.
4 moths is such a long time after the fist 32 years with PN that I get a little crazy at times.
I feel if I slow down that I will continue to heal as usual.

I just really miss my boyfriend and am struggling with the length of my recovery.

Thank you again for listening to me and continuing to support me as I heal and cope with this (oh so fun) condition.

Loves always to each of you (both those I know and to those I don't know)

[Griff522]

I had an interesting experience today. I decided to wear a spanx body shaper under my dress since my tummy is starting to bulge a little since I haven't been working out. Anyway, it helped with the pain and pressure that I normally feel. I guess it was just holding everything in place that my muscles can't. Of course, after wearing it about 5 or 6 hours it was getting a little uncomfortable and I had to take it off. Now I'm feeling the same as I did before.

So does that mean that my pelvic floor is just weak and that's the problem? I plan on talking to my PT about it when I see her on Monday.

[pianogal]

I don't think it can do any long term damage to try it out

I asked my hubby (who is a Physical Therapist) and he agreed and also said it helps a lot of his patients.

It can cause some pain on your hip joints from the pressure of the belt... (But it shouldn't causes pain flares: I think my pain flare that day was just coming on that day from another reason... I'm sorry if I freaked you out about it... the belt is not a big deal really)

I think where it would be helpful is if your sacrum is hurting, or anything, cause your ligaments are a little weaker after the surgery, so it helps hold things together...

and if you wear it, just wear it when you're up walking around and stuff... not when laying around...

You can try it and see if it feels helpful to you. Or just try tying a belt around your hips at home and see how it feels. I don't have an official belt anymore but just using belts around the house did the trick somewhat.

[Violet M]

I used an SI belt before surgery but couldn't tolerate the pressure over the glutes because it seemed to press on the PN. My understanding is that SI belts are used as a temporary measure if you have strained ligaments or muscles to give them a chance to heal and that once you take the belt off you need to ease into doing some core strengthening exercises. Body shapers work better for me than an SI belt because they put even pressure throughout the pelvis and seem to give a little support to an unstable pelvis.

Another option is to get prolotherapy into the ligaments to strengthen them but unfortunately insurance doesn't usually cover it.

[kat]

I'm not wearing the belt.

I'm in alignment and have had no more issues with it.

I personally wouldn't recommend it since it is masking the true reason for pain and doesn't cure anything.

Loves

[paulette]

Violet,

Could you please explain to me what a body shaper is? Thanks.

[Griff522]

My body shaper is just basically the modern version of a girdle. Check out spanx.com. There are cheaper versions at Target.