This article was published in the December 2022 issue of Basket Korea webzine. ( Link to purchase Basket Korea webzine )
Hello. This is Fourlab Jung Moon-gyun. Now the really cold winter has arrived. There must be a lot of people who feel that their joints are sore and painful in cloudy or cold weather. It’s not just the mood. In fact, when the temperature drops, the joint fluid that makes the bones between bones soft is hardened. So the joints become stiff, and the muscles around the joints get together and harden.
Among them, those who feel pain and numbness in the waist, pelvis, and buttocks should read this issue carefully. This is because the lesions that cause numbness in the lower body and pain in the lower back are more diverse than expected.
So, what is the subject of this issue? I would like to inform you about sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SI joint dysfunction), which is similar to disc symptoms. Insufficiency of the sacroiliac joint means ‘a state in which the function and strength of the sacroiliac joint are incomplete and do not function properly’. It can also cause inflammation and pain around the sacroiliac joint.
Kim Yu-na, who was the queen of figure skating, also suffered from severe sacroiliac joint pain. To the point where she had to give up the contest. If you have a problem with the sacroiliac joint, you will feel great pain, and you will have a lot of difficulty with light movements such as walking or sitting for a long time during daily life as well as exercise.
The sacroiliac joint is the joint where the sacrum and the wing-shaped ilium on either side of the sacrum meet. It absorbs the shock transmitted to the spine and distributes the weight applied to the body properly. Connected by strong ligaments, it is also a joint with strong enough strength to support the entire weight of the upper body. Because it is so strongly connected, it is a joint that allows only a very small amount of movement. So, when the sacroiliac joint becomes unstable and excessive movement occurs, or when it loses mobility and does not function properly, sacroiliac joint dysfunction occurs.
The biggest cause of sacroiliac joint dysfunction is an imbalance caused by poor living posture and habits, such as frequently crossing the legs or walking on one leg. In addition, as in the case of Yuna Kim mentioned above, direct impact to the pelvis and waist, such as falling or bumping, is also a cause.
Symptoms of sacroiliac joint dysfunction include back pain, pain in the buttock or in the anterior or posterior thigh. In addition, there are many symptoms of heaviness or numbness in the entire lower extremities. Sometimes it happens on both sides, sometimes it happens on one side only. As mentioned earlier, this is the biggest reason why sacroiliac joint dysfunction is mistaken for a herniated disc.
Then, what exercises can be done when the sacroiliac joint is abnormal? The stability of the sacroiliac joint can be improved with simple stretching or exercise in daily life. From now on, I will introduce stretching and strengthening exercises that can solve or prevent sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
1. Standing ham 3 way stretching
Many strong ligaments run tightly around the sacroiliac joint. Among them, the sacrotuberous ligament is connected to the tendon of the biceps femoris in the hamstring. Because of these anatomical connections, simply stretching the hamstrings can reduce pain and discomfort.
The hamstring is divided into 4 muscles. Not only does it stretch the whole thing, but you can make the stretching more effective by dividing it into inner and outer parts. Raise one leg forward-outside-inward, straighten your upper body, and bend forward.
At this time, if you maintain the feeling of slowly pushing your hips back, you can prevent bad posture that causes your lower back to curl. Also, if you lean your upper body forward as much as possible and pull your ankles at the end, you can stretch your calf muscles as well. It is recommended to proceed for about 10 seconds with comfortable breathing to sufficiently stretch the muscles.
2. Quadruped groin mobilization in the quadrupedal crawling position
In order to create mobility or stability of the sacroiliac joint, it is necessary to exercise to make various tissues such as ligaments and muscles around the hip joint flexible. From a quadruped crawling position, pull one knee as close to the body as possible, rotate it out, extend it back, rotate it in, and bring it back toward the body. It’s easier to understand if you think of drawing a big circle with your knees. You can do the same movement in the opposite direction. 카지노사이트
At first, practice making big movements by drawing as large a circle as possible. Once you get used to the motion, fix the pelvis and prevent the hip of the supporting leg from slipping to the side. It is to proceed so that only movement in the hip joint comes out. If you practice 20 times in each direction and check yourself in the mirror, you will be able to create more effective movements.
3. Moving groin mobilization
As before, perform more dynamic movements to create hip mobility. Through the three movements to be explained, it is possible to create proper flexibility and movement of many muscles around the hip joint, such as the adductor muscle, the tensor fasciae latae muscle, and the iliopsoas muscle.
First, bring your feet together in the center of your pelvis and slowly press both knees toward the floor. At this time, in order to adjust the height of both knees similarly, breathe while pressing the knee that is more floating from the floor than the opposite side.
In the second movement, without placing your hands on the floor as in the previous movement, turn one knee and attach it to the opposite foot. Since one leg is the standard for the center of the pelvis, fix it immobilized and rotate the opposite knee. Then lift your hips and rotate your pelvis. At this time, not only the upper body, but the whole pelvis moves.
Finally, bring your knees up and place them in front of your body. And keep the pelvis bent, and push the pelvis forward. Be careful not to overextend your back at this time. Also, as the range of motion increases as the feet are farther apart, adjust the intensity of the stretching.
4. Hip lift from a supine position (bridge for glut)
Strengthening exercises for the hip muscles, which cover the sacroiliac joint and are responsible for the stability of the sacroiliac joint, are one of the essential exercises.
The exercise I’m going to describe now can specifically strengthen the buttock muscles, even among the hip-lifting bridge exercises. First, in the upright position, lower the angle of the knees, turn the toes outward, and spread both legs apart. Then slowly roll your pelvis up and lift your hips. At this time, if you lift your hips excessively, you need to be aware of this because your lower back is used instead of your hip muscles. And make sure that the strength is equally applied to both hip muscles, and proceed 20 times.
5. Raise both feet together while lying down (diamond hip extension)
This is an exercise that can strengthen the lower back muscles, hamstrings, and buttock muscles that are connected by one large fascia. (Especially, it can strengthen the buttock muscles). In a lying position, touch the heels of both feet, like a frog leg or diamond shape. Take a posture that reminds you of . Then, lift the feet together toward the ceiling, tightening the buttock muscles first and not overexerting the upper body.
Quite a few people suffer from it, but I introduced sacroiliac joint dysfunction, one of the lesions that go unnoticed. Since numbness or pain in the area mentioned above is only a problem of the disc, you can pass by without knowing the sacroiliac joint. However, it is only by identifying the cause of the problem and knowing the appropriate stretching and strengthening exercises that you can effectively address pain and discomfort.
If the weather is cold and you have pain, it may not be easy to exercise or you may be scared. But if you don’t move your body, your joints will stiffen and your muscles will stiffen. In addition to the sacroiliac joint, pain can occur in many areas. Warm up your body with proper exercise and stretching, and hope you spend a healthy winter!