Karyn,Karyn wrote:Would you happen to know what Vicki Sims does differently than other PT's? I've been getting SIJD treatments for the last 3 years (off and on) from PT and Chiropractors with no lasting effect. I really don't know for sure if my SIJ is lax. Feels more like it's "stuck". Even tried Diane Lee's SIJ Belt: The Compressor.
Has anyone gotten cured from injections, alone?
I have seen 6 PT's in my search for help - they all said I have SIJD, but none could get me in proper alignment or help me get rid of the pain. Vicki has a 6 week conservative program that she instructs a spouse or friend to help you stay in alignment (along with self-correction techniques and exercises). I am a more severe case of SIJD. But after doing a lot of research over the last several months and now after seeing Vicki I really think I had some mild SIJD for a year or two (maybe more) before I got pregnant and my first symptom was pelvic floor pain (which is rare, but does happen). Then my ligaments were still lax (so I was hypermobile) from pregnancy while I was nursing my daughter (see signature) and then I had a PT who screwed me up (did a high velocity manipulation which overstretched, maybe even tore my long SI ligament- this isn't seen even on MRI usually) then when I stopped nursing my daughter my joint got stuck in the wrong position and I became 'hypomobile' (the whole side I am hypomobile on I feel tight). My question now is can I conservatively get my SI back in alignment and take the pressure off the PN or has the PN already become entrapped. I don't know and only time will tell. I'm hoping within 12 weeks of doing exercises and taping I'll be able to tell what's going on and if I'm not any better I'll probably go get a Potter MRI (which I'm scheduled for in May) before I decide what to do next.
Now, I'm not going to say it's easy. Actually tonight I feel worse than I did before I was put back in alignment today, but Vicki says although you might get the joint in alignment in 6-12 weeks it will take months to fix all the muscle dysfunction that has happened as a result of SIJD. But it totally makes sense to me now why I hurt from my neck to my feet -PNE alone I don't think will do that. Vicki has treated SIJD for about 30 years...that's all she does. She's written a book which you might find helpful ("The Secret Cause of Low Back Pain") and a DVD (which explains a lot of her correction exercises, and I got that hoping that I could bypass having to actually see her, but I needed someone to tell me what type of dysfunction I have exactly) "Understanding Sacroiliac Joint Pain". There are mixed reviews about Vicki and her practice online...some people think she's marketing and charges too much money (I'll tell you she's charging me $1,000 for 6 hours or so of therapy and that's because it's out of my network) or that she rushes people to surgery too much. She says she's treated people with pudendal neuralgia/vulvodynia symptoms and some of them their pudendal pain disappeared once the SI's were aligned properally. I think she and Jerry Hesch are two of the most prominent PT's right now for SIJD. You can also look up Don Tigney's website...a lot of valuable info there.
I have a lot of sit bone pain and pain along the ST ligament. I think it could be could be coming from the SIJD, but it could also be coming from the PN. I just have to be patient now. But I'm hoping I can avoid TG decompression at all costs, but if not I will know that I have tried therapy with a PT who specializes in SIJD at least.
Oh, and injections do not cure SIJD they just diagnose that there is pain in that area (unless maybe the SI pain is purely a result of arthritis and not of a dysfunction with the pelvic joints). Also some literature shows that false negatives are common especially if there is piriformis syndrome.
