SIJD - never heard of it?

RE: SIJD - never heard of it?

Hi

Yes I have heard of this. I am an ex patient too.

2 years ago I was in excrutiating pain, my leg muscles went into spasm, I had pain everywhere, couldnt sit, couldnt stand and lying was agony. I went to my GP several times and was told it was sciatica take pain killers and rest, it'll go on its own. After 4 weeks a friend recommended I saw a Chiropractor, he examined me and knew what was wrong immediately, after that first session I began to feel ease of pain and eventually was pain free. Occasionally I get the odd twinge but nothing compared to how it was.

TS

As a chiropractor, I would be amazed at any colleague who doesn't know about this, but probably calls it something entirely different. I for one, have never (that I can recall) used that set of initials, so wouldn't immediately know what they were if someone came to me with that as a previous diagnosis.
I would also query the validity of the link I followed ("this is SIJD"), it's an article on one person's oppinion, and is very subjective.

I assume that when you are talking about "doctors" you're meaning GPs, who tend to know little about biomechanical medicine, as it doesn't fit with their training, until relatively recently there was debate (in orthodox medicine) as to whether the SI joint was even a mobile joint (as opposed to a fused suture).

As a chiropractor, I would be amazed at any colleague who doesn't know about this, but probably calls it something entirely different.

I for one, have never (that I can recall) used that set of initials, so wouldn't immediately know what they were if someone came to me with that as a previous diagnosis.
I would also query the validity of the link I followed ("this is SIJD"), it's an article on one person's oppinion, and is very subjective.

You can check Chiroweb and articles from there. They keep telling this:
"I want to introduce to you an IS pattern with which most of you probably are unfamiliar. The ilium can shear vertically on the sacrum; this is called an upslip or downslip. "
by Marc Heller

If you all are familiar with it why he wrote that?

Sure you can claim every chiro knows about it, but I just have to wonder if it really is so, because the Internet is full of patients asking help and they keep telling they have already seen some chiropractors...

And as Chiroweb articles tell, YOU PROBABLY ARE UNFAMILIAR OF THIS.

And anyway downslip doesn't exist. It is just upslip with symptoms on the other side, or what do you think?

And usually some patients keep telling they have visited tens of times in chiropractic care and received no (permanent) help.

One example:
"My daughter, 16 was found to have a shifted pelvis 6 years ago. It was up on oneside and also rotated forward. She has had it realigned several times by PT and chiro but it never seems to stay."

I assume that when you are talking about "doctors" you're meaning GPs, who tend to know little about biomechanical medicine, as it doesn't fit with their training, until relatively recently there was debate (in orthodox medicine) as to whether the SI joint was even a mobile joint (as opposed to a fused suture).

This part is correct. Medical doctors (99,9% of them) don't believe there can exist such a problem as subluxated SIJ. Even it is very common disorder in humans, including horses, cows, etc.

You're talking about a different thing now; and upslip or a downslip; rather than the rotary form of SIJD that every chiro will be aware of; a different beast.

Out of interest, what percentage of SIJD do you believe to be rotary (and easily treated) as opposed to an "upslip/downslip"

Depending on what he's talking about precisely, if it's the type of "upslip" (or "downslip") that I'm familiar with, there is a specific, and named treatment regime aimed at correcting it, called Thompson-Derifield technique; which is certainly taught all students at AECC, and, as far as I know, at UWIC too. However, it is a technique that is very much a minor one, and I don't know anyone who uses it as a first choice technique. I have no idea how common it is in the rest of the world, and also don't claim that it isn't used here, just that I don't know of anyone who uses it a lot. I myself have used it on something like 3-4 patients in my 5 years in practice.

You're talking about a different thing now; and upslip or a downslip; rather than the rotary form of SIJD that every chiro will be aware of; a different beast.

Many experts believe they don't exist. It is even difficult to find a chiropractor's web page that tells about it. But I know some chiropractors have the skill to treat it well. But most don't.

The Internet is full with people complaining about SIJD and they tell they have seen a chiropractic, but felt they got no help. Perhaps most difficult part on it is to get it stay. But many times they tell they got no help at all.

Out of interest, what percentage of SIJD do you believe to be rotary (and easily treated) as opposed to an "upslip/downslip"

In the hands of chiropractors nothing seems easy. Usually they sell 10-30 treatments in advance and treat only spine.

I visited one chiropractic about 15 times and then I quit. He said I have "twisted pelvis" (he didn't say what was causing it), but he couldn't correct it. He used wedges under my pelvis and pushed. I felt rotation on my pelvis, but it didn't last longer than an hour and then the pain came back. Sometimes he could open some locks from my thorax, sometimes I felt nothing happened.

Then I visited once another chiropractor who didn't touch my pelvis but told I have to start stretching. He didn't understand that I had been doing it for years with no help. I wonder if he thinks he cured me..?

Then I visited a naprapath. He saw something wrong in my pelvis, didn't tell what. Then he "treated" it with "rotation manipulation", but nothng happened. I visited him 20 times, because he was great with thorax and neck. Every time he tried to correct my pelvis without success. Usually after his treatment I had couple of hours without headache but then it came back.

Then I saw couple times a manual therapeutist who said I have downslip on my right side. That's where the pain was. He tried few tricks but it didn't help at all.

Then finally I met an expert who said I have left ilium upslip and that's why my right side had pain and stiffness. He corrected it and immediately I felt the difference: No pain, better posture, better breathing, etc.

After that I contacted to my first chiropractor who was amased on my feedback because he tought he treated me with great success because he uses the best technique. Then he got angry and told me never to contact him again.

I have sent to this expert tens of patients and they all had the same (some of them were patients of the same first chiropractor I used). So in my eyes many downslips are really upslips on other side. And after been in contact with hundreds of other patients who have experience on chiropractors and other manual thrapeutists, they all had the same problem: ilium upslip, but no help from those experts few exeptions excluded.

I understand why many chiropractors (and other manual therapeutists) have the illusion that if a patient comes to see him he treats the patient and if that patient never comes back he is cured. The truth is most often patients are NOT cured but they just don't want to waste their money again.

The same illusion conserns all, even doctors. One doctor kept me a lesson how he had been treating back pain patients with great success over 30 years. I sent a couple patients to see him and they told afterwards that they got no help at all and the MD was so rude they don't want to see him again. Thats how illusions are made...

Depending on what he's talking about precisely, if it's the type of "upslip" (or "downslip") that I'm familiar with, there is a specific, and named treatment regime aimed at correcting it, called Thompson-Derifield technique; which is certainly taught all students at AECC, and, as far as I know, at UWIC too.

It might be, but how many of them learns it? And they only think they have the skills.

You know many chiropractors don't even believe there can be an upslip and that is a fact. I have been in contact with many, even one of our national chiropractic association board member told me it is not possible because SIJs are the strongest place in human body.

This is what I am thinking on this. It doesn't mean I am right...

Edit: If chiropractors would treat this problem with great success there would be many medical studies that tell the same. Where are they? Like chiropractic teacher S. Kierstyn, RN DC in UK wrote to me about SIJD: "Yes, it is a common syndrome, affecting literally everyone around you. Yes, this can be found in almost every child over the age of 1 year. "

But still no-one gets cured and the amount of people with back pain keeps rising every year. Can you explane?

Many experts believe they don't exist. It is even difficult to find a chiropractor's web page that tells about it. But I know some chiropractors have the skill to treat it well. But most don't.

The Internet is full with people complaining about SIJD and they tell they have seen a chiropractic, but felt they got no help. Perhaps most difficult part on it is to get it stay. But many times they tell they got no help at all.

In the hands of chiropractors nothing seems easy. Usually they sell 10-30 treatments in advance and treat only spine.

I would have grave doubts about anyone, in any therapy, who tries to sell 10-30 treatments in advance; IMO it's unethical. You can NEVER start a treatment plan, knowing how many treatments it's going to take - all you can do is take an educated guess.

The average number of treatments it takes to treat all of the conditions that chiropractors treat is somewhere around 10; this includes people who need just 1 treatment, and those who do require treatment for life.

Personally I would walk out as soon as anyone tried to sell me a course of treatment in advance, and never go back; I would also not trust anything they told me about my condition as I'd be suspicious that they were just selling me something, and not interested in what is actually wrong with me.

I visited one chiropractic about 15 times and then I quit. He said I have "twisted pelvis" (he didn't say what was causing it), but he couldn't correct it. He used wedges under my pelvis and pushed. I felt rotation on my pelvis, but it didn't last longer than an hour and then the pain came back. Sometimes he could open some locks from my thorax, sometimes I felt nothing happened.

Then I visited once another chiropractor who didn't touch my pelvis but told I have to start stretching. He didn't understand that I had been doing it for years with no help. I wonder if he thinks he cured me..?

Then I visited a naprapath. He saw something wrong in my pelvis, didn't tell what. Then he "treated" it with "rotation manipulation", but nothng happened. I visited him 20 times, because he was great with thorax and neck. Every time he tried to correct my pelvis without success. Usually after his treatment I had couple of hours without headache but then it came back.

Then I saw couple times a manual therapeutist who said I have downslip on my right side. That's where the pain was. He tried few tricks but it didn't help at all.

Then finally I met an expert who said I have left ilium upslip and that's why my right side had pain and stiffness. He corrected it and immediately I felt the difference: No pain, better posture, better breathing, etc.

I have sent to this expert tens of patients and they all had the same. So in my eyes many downslips are really upslips on other side. And after been in contact with hundreds of other patients who have experience on chiropractors and other manual thrapeutists, they all had the same problem: ilium upslip, but no help from those experts few exeptions excluded.

I understand why many chiropractors (and other manual therapeutists) have the illusion that if a patient comes to see him he treats the patient and if that patient never comes back he is cured. The truth is most often no patients are cured but they don't want to waste their money again.

It's impossible to tell for any therapist; though you generally have an impression, based on progress throughout treatment plan, and how they were immediately after treatment (if only 1 is attended)

The same illusion conserns all, even doctors. One doctor kept me a lesson how he had been treating back pain patients with great success over 30 years. I sent a couple patients to see him and they told afterwards that they got no help at all and the MD was so rude they don't want to see him again. Thats how illusions are made...

It might be, but how many of them learns it? You know many chiropractors don't even believe there can be an upslip and that is a fact.

It might be, or it might not be - it is, of course, possible that you're talking about yet another condition of the SI that I'm not familiar with, and therefore can't comment upon.
However, if you're talking abuot SIJD as a catch all for biomechanical problems of the SI joint, then somewhere in the high 90%s can be treated relatively easily by the vast majority of chiropractors, and can be implicated in many many conditions (though his doesn't mean it's the root cause).
Please remember that we DO successfully treat 90% of patients, they can't all have this incurable syndrome

This is what I am thinking on this. It doesn't mean I am right...

Edit: If chiropractors would treat this problem with great success there would be many medical studies that tell the same. Where are they? Like chiropractic teacher S. Kierstyn, RN DC in UK wrote to me about SIJD: "Yes, it is a common syndrome, affecting literally everyone around you. Yes, this can be found in almost every child over the age of 1 year. "

But still no-one gets cured and the amount of people with back pain keeps rising every year. Can you explane?

Please remember that we DO successfully treat 90% of patients, they can't all have this incurable syndrome

But still most patients feel they are NOT cured. I haven't heard any expert who calls to his patients and asks if they are without pain or not after ie. 10 prepaid treatments... So, how do you know 90% of patients are treated succesfully if you don't ever ask them? What is the basis of that assumption?

But still most patients feel they are NOT cured. I haven't heard any expert who calls to his patients and asks if they are without pain or not after ie. 10 prepaid treatments... So, how do you know 90% of patients are treated succesfully if you don't ever ask them? What is the basis of that assumption?

You take SOAP notes on each and every treatment visit.
You constantly adapt the treatment plan based on that information.
When the patient is no longer complaining of a problem, and I'm no longer finding any cause for a problem, I discharge them (often with a single check-up 2-4 months later).

It's safe to assume that patients who've shown gradual improvement in physical findings, pain levels and mobility and activity levels is improving.

Anyone who will treat someone 10 times without any improvement is verging on conning people. If I'm not getting any change after 3-4 treatments (I'll go to 7-8 for very chronic cases) then I'm starting the case again from scratch, throwing out the working diagnosis and coming up with a new one, trying different treatment techniques etc etc.
I know that not everyone does this, but they should; we're certainly all taught to do this, and required to by the GCC (UK based that is)

It's safe to assume that patients who've shown gradual improvement in physical findings, pain levels and mobility and activity levels is improving.

I wonder why proper studies doesn't exist? Only a few. Many studies tell chiropractic treatment is useless. That's why about 50% of MDs worldwide think it is nonsense. Here they tell it belongs to "alternative medicine" that is based on believe, not the facts or even scientifically possible. I hope some day chiropractors can do a proper study that medical world accepts as a good one and it is published in the Lancet.

I wonder if James Randi has promised to pay a reward to a chiropractor who can prove subluxations exist. Randi has not had very good experience on chiropractic treatment... in Chirotalk and Chirobase same thing.

I know that not everyone does this, but they should; we're certainly all taught to do this, and required to by the GCC (UK based that is)

Sounds good. Unfortunately there are a lot of those other experts.
But what was the original subject? SIJD? Ilium upslip?

I wonder why proper studies doesn't exist? Only a few. Many studies tell chiropractic treatment is useless. That's why about 50% of MDs worldwide think it is nonsense. Here they tell it belongs to "alternative medicine" that is based on believe, not the facts or even scientifically possible. I hope some day chiropractors can do a proper study that medical world accepts as a good one and it is published in the Lancet.

I wonder if James Randi has promised to pay a reward to a chiropractor who can prove subluxations exist. Randi has not had very good experience on chiropractic treatment... in Chirotalk and Chirobase same thing.

Sounds good. Unfortunately there are a lot of those other experts.
But what was the original subject? SIJD? Ilium upslip?

Hang on a second. 50% of MDs think that chiro is rubbish; so they must be right.
99.99% of MDs think that SIJD doesn't exist, but they must be wrong?

There are plenty of studies both for and against chiropractic treatment; just as there are for anything medical.
There have been plenty of proper studies that the medical world accepts as good. Off the top of my head I can't think of any published in the Lancetl but why do they have to be? what's wrong with the BMJ, or JAMA? or reports published in their own right rather than through journals? or guidelines given to GPs by their professional associations.

I'm sorry, I'm not sure you're reference in the 1st sentence of your last paragraph - there are lots of experts of all forms of opinions, by cherry picking, you can prove just about anything you want, in just about any field of medecine.

We certainly do seem to have gone off on a tangent from the original point, and I still hold that chiropractors can successfully treat a significant majority of patients with SIJD; and that every chiro will be aware of SIJD (of which "ilium upslip" is one form, and far from the most common too IMO - I can tell by the way the majority get better with rotary treatment). Yes, that is my opinion, and based on my experience of 5 years in practice. No I don't claim to be 100% successful, and yes, I'm highly suspicious of anyone who does make such claims (and just as suspicious of anyone who will charge for 10 treatments in advance, and much more so of anybody who continue to try an unsuccessful treatment regime)

Hang on a second. 50% of MDs think that chiro is rubbish; so they must be right.

My opinion is that they are not right. I know pelvic and spinal manipulation is efficient when executed with skills. That's how my migraine and back pain was corrected after 15 years of pain, but I got no help from my chiropractor, nor naprapath, nor osteopath.

99.99% of MDs think that SIJD doesn't exist, but they must be wrong?

That is an opinion I have got from my experience and after interviewing hundreds on back pain patients after they have got rid of their SIJD in the hands of a skilled expert. And even afterwards when these patients have been trying to explane how they got rid of the pains the doctors don't believe or they get angry because the patient is trying to teach them... Many times they only say the patients only think they got help because the pains were only their imagination. I have received a lot of angly letters telling everything I write is bull**** when I try to write about SIJD. Even some chiropractors say there can't be such a problem as ilium upslip.

There have been plenty of proper studies that the medical world accepts as good. Off the top of my head I can't think of any published in the Lancetl but why do they have to be? what's wrong with the BMJ, or JAMA?

Because the Lancet is the one that doesn't publish rubbish. Or that is what the doctors believe.

or reports published in their own right rather than through journals? or guidelines given to GPs by their professional associations.

Usually they are case studies or small groups and without randomization.

We certainly do seem to have gone off on a tangent from the original point, and I still hold that chiropractors can successfully treat a significant majority of patients with SIJD; and that every chiro will be aware of SIJD (of which "ilium upslip" is one form, and far from the most common too IMO - I can tell by the way the majority get better with rotary treatment).

Actually I haven't met anyone who has got rid of their SIJD in hands of a chiropractor. And I have been in contact with hundreds of patients and they have seen tens of chiropractors. And there are many patients in the internet telling their situation:
"My daughter, 16 was found to have a shifted pelvis 6 years ago. It was up on oneside and also rotated forward. She has had it realigned several times by PT and chiro but it never seems to stay. "
"Does anyone know about Sacroiliac joint problems? My Chiro says mine are "unstable" and that is causing my new low back pain. He has been trying to straighten some of the curve in my lower back (hyperlordosis) and while he says that Im better, I FEEL worse."

Yes, that is my opinion, and based on my experience of 5 years in practice.

So you don't have much experience on other chiropractics? And do you think patients can answer this question better if they have got help or not?

Expatient, in post #6 you say that you found an expert that helped your SIJD. What did they do so we can all learn from this?

Cheers

RP

Hi all,

As neutral in this discussion I can add my comments from the perspective of a sports therapist with limited experience of treating this condition and from that of someone with over 25 years of injury management experiences at the hands of both NHS and private remedial specialisms.
Expatient seems to have an axe to grind against the chiropractic and osteopathic fraternity that in my opinion is based on being the recipient of ineffective treatment. Irrespective of the nature of the therapist speciality there are always going to be successful and unsuccessful treatments, there will be issues arising from personalities clashing, inneffective advice and treatment, we should remember that as individuals our clients will respond differently to treatment protocols. Good therapists will regularly take part in self evaluation and treatment reviews.
BIA seems to offer diplomatic argument for his respective corner based on commonsense and obvious knowledge, BIA has also highlighted inconsisitency in EP posts regarding statistics.

What we as therapists generally have at the fore of our intentions, to be of benefit to our clients, we will not have a 100% record and with the best will in the world we will not "get on" with everyone who walks throught our clinic door for a variety of reasons. I have personal experience of clients who have told me before treatment that I will be inneffective as they have tried everything with no improvement. Such clients are wasting both my and their own time. I hardly ever sell "treatment packages" and always tell the client that they will decide whether, when or if they want to see me again. Some will come back, some will become regular clients and some will come as and when it suits and that is something I am entirley comfortable with. I do follow up on new clients by either email of text message to enquire about any progression, but that is purely because I am empathetic and sypathetic about my clients.
EP as ReikiPixie has pointed out, mentions an "expert" however I can find no (or missed) reference to the type of treatment administered.
I feel that this forum has always been a place to help fellow therapists and potential clients with unbiased information that will in some way allow them to make an informed decision about the direction an potential treatment and its anecdotal effectiveness.
I feel strongly enough about my profession to offer my advice and use my limited time to try and make a positive difference to my "friends" on this forum. I always try to be objective and offer advice without prejudice. That said I felt strongly enough to come to the defence of BIA who In my opinion has remained entirely professional in this debate whilst having his chosen profession berated by EP with unsubstantiated statistics and generalisatons.

I for one always read BIA posts with interest and respect his advice :)and will restrain from sharing my personal opinion of EP and his posts for reasons of pure professionalism.:confused:
regards
BGFL

Then finally I met an expert who said I have left ilium upslip and that's why my right side had pain and stiffness. He corrected it and immediately I felt the difference: No pain, better posture, better breathing, etc.

could you elaborate on this statement to the benefit of all readers.

Thanks

This I wrote a couple of years ago:
After years of search I finally found one professional who knew how to cure my back pain: to correct my SIJD. His exact diagnose was:
M53.8 Dysfunctio/dislocation articuli sacroiliacale l. sin.
M41.9 Rotatio scoliosis
G54.0 Syndroma TOS l.a.
M35.7 Syndroma hypermobilitas levis
R29.8 Symptomata musculi quadriceps l.a.

And the best part was: He pushed my ilium "down" to its place! After that many of my symptoms were gone! Amazing! My legs got power. My lumbar spine was no longer hypermobile. My posture got better! No headackhes, no high blood pressure,... after a while I got rid of rest of my problems.

Over 3 years later: No more TOS, no more back pain, legs work fine, no headaches, etc. And I had seen a lot of different experts before that! No help from them. And now I have been writing about this, but no-one believes on me. So I have been interviewing tens of patients who had similar problems and got similar help.

It is very common disorder but so poorly known. Many experts claim they understand all about it but most of them don't. They only think they do. Here some opinions from few experts:

Richard DonTigny, PT:
"Eight of ten people in the world will have low back pain at one time or another and I firmly believe that most of it is SIJD."
Richard DonTigny
1992-2002 Advisory board, World Congress on Low Back Pain and the Pelvis
1995 Board of Associate Editors of the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy
2000 Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare

Wolf Schamberger, M.D.
"Patients presenting for cardiac rehabilitation are no different from the general population in that 80 to 85% are out of alignment."

Maciej Dluski, MD :
"The theory of the YUMEIHO method is grounded on the fact, that over 95% of people have had incorrectly positioned pelvis since their birth. Most often it means, that one ilium is placed higher than the other. The limb on the higher ilium side is comparatively shorter."

Lisa Mancuso, M.D., Hugh S Thompson, M.D, George A. Bitting, M.D.
"The sacroiliac joint is a commonly overlooked cause of lower back pain. Recent studies have found that Sacroiliac dysfunction was the cause, or a major component, in a high percentage the cases of mechanical back pain. Dysfunction in the sacroiliac joint not only causes back pain but also may mimic pain seen in lumbar disc herniation or a facet joint with pain referred into the buttock and thigh."

Chris Ford, Master Physical Therapist:
"Although this joint has traditionally been given little attention, I have found sacroiliac dysfunction in nearly every one of the hundreds of the patients I have treated for low back pain."

And many others can be found. Some explain it well, some poorly. Some believe on it, most don't. Many chiros tell they know this and treating it is a peace of cake. But still patients have different opinions on that: There are some who do it well, but most don't. Many of them seem to believe it don't even exist! Sad.

I think she could be one of the good ones:
[DLMURL] http://fibrocare.org/What%20Is%20Fibromyalgia%20Page.htm [/DLMURL]
She wrote me about it a year ago:
"Yes, it is a common syndrome, affecting literally everyone around you. "

From Toutube you can find some videos of different manipulation techniques...

did he do myofascial release treatments? We get good results in our clinic using this.

did he do myofascial release treatments? We get good results in our clinic using this.

No, He only pushed the ilium. My muscles relaxed immediately after that manipulation. I felt my pelvis more lighter and movable. 1min after treatment I could reach 20cm more in forward flexion test and after few minutes my whole back muscles felt relaxed even up between blades and up to neck. I had years of constant burning pain between blades before that.

Hello
I am new to this site but have been reading the posts with some interest. I have been suffering with a whole catalogue of problems eminating from pelvic imbalance and what I believe to be an out-of-place sacroiliac joint. My problem is finding a health professional that recognises what is wrong with me. I have been reading excerpts of The Malalignment Syndrome and bits from this forum and I can identify with so many of the complaints. I have seen a number of different professionals both privately and on the NHS but still have not been successfully treated after two years of suffering. I'm an otherwise healthy 26 year old male and I just want to be able to do sport again.

I live in a remote part of Cornwall, but have been considering travelling up to London for treatment. The physios I have seen on the NHS do not recognise that the sacroiliac joint can be displaced.

I have outlined my case history below in the hope that somebody can recommend a health professional that can stabilise me, get my SI joints in place and functioning properly and then maintain that stability.

I began noticing tight snapping hips and audible clunking on performing breaststroke leg kicks as a teenager. I didn't experience any pain until my early twenties. I used to do a lot of running, situps, press-ups and those sort of blokey exercises as a means to remain fit whilst working in an office. So I probably had a really strong chest and external abs but tight flexors, exacerbated by sitting at a laptop all day. Anyway one day about two years ago I developed muscle spasms in my lumbar spine, this lasted about a week, but was followed by mild sciatica on the outside of my right leg. I also had a feeling of pins and needles in my right foot. These problems persisted for about a month and I reduced the amount of activity I was doing, but one day I bent forward to pick up a heavy object with my right hand and felt a click in my right SI region. Following on from this incident I began to develop extreme sciatica down the outside of right leg and in the right buttock. The right SI joint was also very painful to touch and felt bruised it does also seem that the right posterior superior iliac spine is protruding and raised more than the left. I sought help from an osteopath who diagnosed me with a herniated disc and prescribed rest. I then sought a second opinion from a chiropractor who seemed to concentrate on my SI, I think they tried to release a locked SI joint on the left hand side but it wouldn't budge - anyway something happened because the sciatica reduced a bit -
I then tried all the stretching and yoga execises I could find to treat piriformis syndrome and alleviate a herniated disc. Little did I realise I was probably doing more damage than good because I was unstable and out of alignment. I soon developed pain in my right sternoclavicular joint and a feeling of separation as it clicked and cracked and floated around (this is described in The Malalignment Syndrome).
However the most notable area of pain was in my hip abductors - I couldn't do a flat footed squat or lift either leg out to the side above knee height without excruitiating pain in the hip and knee. I tried stretching all my hip muscles including the illiotibial bands, piriformis, glutes, psoas etc...

Next I started swimming to try and help my sciatic pain and alleviate the tightness in my lumbar region and hips. No difference - but instead I started to develop migraine like headaches and sore rhomboid muscles.

After about a year and a half I finally got an MRI on the NHS and showed positive signs of L4 and L5 disc protrusion as well as some disc degeneration. Apparently this is very unusual in a man of 26. However I believe these disc problems have been caused by the SI joint being incorrectly aligned,, the pelvis either rotated or slipped, hypermobile on one side and locked on the other. I have a shorter right leg due to the twist of the pelvis and thus a lumbar scoliosis which surely will cause the discs to wear down and be squeezed out of place. My thorax is thus also twisted and I have severe pain in my sternum which is occasionally relieved by a popping of the ribs in that area. Basically I'm all twisted.
I'm, wearing an SI belt at the moment which seems to reduce the sciatica but still I believe the pelvis is out of alignment and the problems in my thorax and elsewhere will not heal and correct themselves until my SI is correctly aligned.

The trouble as I have said is I don't know if I have and upslip and rotation on the right side, the side in which I have the shorter leg or quite what the exact nature of the problem is. I have lost faith in the specialists I have seen. I am currently seeing a chiropractor who is attempting to stabilise my SIs by blocking with wedges and then getting me to wear an SI belt, but I don't see how this will align my SI joints as the right posterior superior iliac spine still feels protruded but admitedly much more tender.
Any advice or recommendations or specialists that can treat me would be so very gratefully received.
Thanks

. And I had seen a lot of different experts before that! No help from them.
Richard DonTigny, PT:

Hi,
Tha sounds amazing. I am looking for someone to sort my upper back, neck and shoulder out. Who did you see and where are they based?
Many thanks,
Fatchops.