Spoke

I’m a 59 year old active recreational cyclist who gets out on the road about once a week (Saturday) for 2 to 5 hours. I’ve been riding for about 8 years. During the past year I have been bothered by very painful Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain. My doctor believes it is due to developed quads (from cycling) exerting more pull on the pelvis when at rest than the hamstrings, thus rotating the pelvis down in front. I have begun an exercise program in the gym to strengthen my hamstrings (leg curls) which with other stretching and regular chiropractic care seems to be working. Anybody else have or have had this problem? If so, what did or is helping you?

-Spoke

MUZE

I've experienced S/I joint discomfort on my left side prior to getting involved with cycling. I feel the cycling and yoga (stretching and core strength) have alleviated the discomfort to the point that I'm generally pain free. I'm 64, started cycling four months ago and I'm enjoying the exercise and the freedom from pain.

DnvrFox

Yep - I have a whole thread on this somewhere. Working daily with about 1 hour of strengthening and stretching to conquer it. Some good success. A good PT is mandatory - better than chiro or osteopath. I got much better stretches and approach from a GOOD PT - and they also vary. My single best thing I did was (on my own - PT did not advise this) to buy and use daily an inversion table. IMMEDIATE SI joint relief. It feels as if everything is put back in order. I hang about 5 minutes per day, in the am. I have to be careful if I bike a lot to be sure and balance that with stretches - the best stretch is the butterfly stretch. I do a LOT on the fitness ball, and with core exercises, including planks. I go through about 17-18 stretches and muscle building daily.

HIPCHIP

Be very careful with an inversion table as inversion therapy can elevate blood pressure to dangerous levels. If you suffer from hypertension at all you should probably avoid inversion therapy.

The SI joint is really deep and hard to heal. Ice therapy usually won't get into the area because it's too deep, but you can try icing the area for 20 minutes on, then at least 40 minutes off. Take some anti-inflammatory and do light stretches. If the doc thinks it's from a muscle imbalance, then you need to exercise ALL muscles in the area, but add a little more emphasis on the glutes.

Keep an eye on this and see if the pain migrates at all as it could be other than an SI joint. It could be a disk problem or sciatica or something similar to that.

Just take it easy and do all your therapy and treatments. If it hurts, then don't do it, but you have to differentiate between pain and irritation from the activities. Not always easy.

DnvrFox

Agreed. I started out with just a slight tilt, and built tilt angle up over a period of time until I felt comfortable"hanging around."