Sacroiliac Dysfunction and Exhaustion

I ran 10 miles on Sunday and felt like a million bucks. I drank sips of sugary tea every 20 minutes and was able to maintain a pace of 8:40 per mile for all 10 miles, which is pretty fast for me at that distance. I was on top of the world that night and felt motivated and energized for more.

The next morning was a different story. My right sacroiliac joint felt off, and my back was stiff and extremely sore. My walking gait was awkward, and sitting was very uncomfortable. I went to my boss/chiropractor/friend for an adjustment, and he confirmed the problem in my right SI joint. He had to use a lot of force to get a proper adjustment, but the relief was immediate. However, so was the fatigue.

I barely managed 15 minutes on the elliptical that evening, and today, I’m totally wiped out. My back is holding its position, which is great, but I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus. The actual SI joint is majorly inflamed and has palpable swelling, and when the alarm went off for my 6:30 a.m. run, I opted to stay in bed with an ice pack instead. Work was pretty torturous the rest of the day, and I laid down as soon as I got home.

We all know that fibromyalgia causes fatigue. My questions are these—has anybody else experienced SI joint dysfunction along with fibromyalgia? If so, has extreme fatigue come along with it? Have any other fibromyalgia patients had massively increased fatigue after chiropractic adjustments? Thanks for your input! I’m going back to bed with an ice pack.

6 Replies to “Sacroiliac Dysfunction and Exhaustion”

  1. I started having SI issues as a college rower about 15 years ago. At the time, I was pre- fibro symptoms. Since then my lumbar and SI issues have progressed to a herniated disk and sciatic nerve irritation. And now everything is complicated further by a new diagnosis if rheumatoid arthritis.

    As far as my SI is concerned, I typically adjust it myself, although I’ve noticed that when my fibro is flaring, it sometimes won’t move for me. I’ve had less issues of late because we have incorporated a muscle relaxer into my nightly regimen of meds.

    I have not noticed increased fatigue with chiropractic adjustments, but I usually only go as a last resort, so I’m typically pretty bad off at the time.

    Please feel free to keep in touch and bounce ideas back and fourth! I’m also in the healthcare profession and have a lot of resources at my fingertips.

    1. Janet, thank you so much for your input! I’m sorry about your SI, disc, and sciatica symptoms. Plus RA– wow, you have it tough. 🙁 Have you tried a foam roller for your tight muscles? I love my foam roller. What specific moves do you do for self-adjustment of the SI? I’m not doing anything at the moment because my chiro got me aligned perfectly, but I’d like to know for the future. Thank you! 🙂

  2. I to have RA and degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis. I can’t tolerate the chiropractor. I just recently found out I also have small peripheral neuropathy. Ive had continual burning and numbness in my left buttock for over 6 years but this is new. My bottom and groin are numb and a dull pressure aching. To answer your question, yes I’ve been fighting this debilitating fatigue for days now. I’m just concerned about the area of aching and numbness. Could it be related to a disc problem or just fibro related? After reading your blog I’m so impressed with your activity level. Mine is a familiar story of becoming ill without knowing what the root cause is and then slowly loosing everything that I enjoyed in my life. I grieved the loss of my job for a long long time. Last year I was in a bad place physically and mentally and then was introduced to a holistic nurse practitioner. I lost over 30lbs and began to truly understand the importance of what we put in our bodies. We self inflict our inflammation by what we eat. I apologize, I’m rambling. I’m going to see how this sciatica pain feels in the morning and then decide if I should go see my doc. Thanks for listening..wishing you relief soon.
    Jerrie

    1. Jerrie, It sounds like your spine is in pretty rough shape. I’m sorry to hear that. 🙁 Have you tried physical therapy? A good physical therapist should be able to guide you in gentle stretching and range of motion exercises, and maybe give you some relief with various modalities like TENS. I’m glad you’ve chosen to understand nutrition. I love being vegan and firmly believe that refined sugar and processed foods contribute to illness. I hope you feel better today. Thanks for reading my site.

  3. Fibro and SI issues — yup, that’s me! Every time I try to start up my running life again, those darn SI issues return. I have a fantastic running-savvy physical therapist who has provided excellent hip and pelvis-focused exercises for me, but it appears that my fibro is stronger than my strengthening muscles and realigning bones. Very frustrating.

    I will tell you that I started using a trigger point tool called the Body Back Buddy to identify and release trigger points in my abdomen and psoas muscles, and the releases I feel are very often in the SI area. I’m hoping that with a focus on releasing adhesions and trigger points, the exercises I’ve been given will have a chance to “take”, and get me back outside on the roads without recurring issues. I’ll keep you posted. Good luck to you, and thanks for this site. Fantastic!!!

    1. Ann,
      How’s it going with the Body Back Buddy? I have a Theracane. Is that similar to what you’re talking about? Best of luck to you, and thanks for reading my site!

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