Have you ever had a client complain that their butt hurts? That they’re getting a pain deep in the “thutt“ (the area where their butt meets the back of the thigh)?
Okay, so maybe I’ve never in my life had a client use that word, but they definitely point to the area and tell me that it hurts. Sometimes when they’re standing, sometimes after exercising, sometimes in the middle of the night.
I’m not a doctor or a rehab therapist, but I’ve spent an inordinately long time learning about the SI Joint, and when clients complain of the “deep butt” pain…it’s usually a symptom of something gone wrong at the SI Joint. Now, you may be thinking, “don’t only pregnant people have pain there?” Great question! Thanks to Sarah Duvall, I do have a kick ass certification in pre & post-natal certification and can very certainly say that you don’t have to have ever been pregnant or have had a baby to have pain there.
Now, for a super rudimentary overview of what goes down at the SI Joint. Your sacroiliac joint is located in your pelvis and connects your pelvis to your sacrum. You can think of it as connecting your upper and lower body. That sounds like a really important part of the body, and you’d be right to guess that a lot can go wrong there.
Two easy ways to think about a client having pain at the SI Joint is that it’s either closing too tightly, or too loosely. Either way is going to send them seeking relief. Below I’ll show you 5 stretches that you probably already incorporate into your Pilates classes (you brilliant people!). You can use these stretches specifically for clients who either tell you they have SI Joint issues, or who describe the pain that I was referring to earlier.
Use these stretches to help open up and “reset” the muscles around the SI Joint….buttttttt…remember that stretching is a temporary fix. Not to mention, if your client is already super flexible, they may need to strengthen the surrounding muscles much more than they need to stretch them. Always, always follow up your stretching with activation and strength exercises. If you want an idea of what some good strengthening exercises look like, follow me on IG @curlsandpilates. I hope this helps so that you can keep your clients getting stronger and staying pain-free!
