Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is a common dysfunction associated with low back pain.  Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is improper movement of the joints at the bottom of the spine that connects the sacrum also known as the tailbone to the pelvis.  This bone is a triangle shaped bone that sits right in the middle of the pelvis.  When the sacrum does not move properly it can lead to low back pain, hip pain, piriformis pain, and sciatica to name a few.  This bony structure acts as a shock absorber to the spine.  Pain usually stems from lack of symmetrical movement.  Since this structure is essentially one bone but with joints on both sides of the pelvis often one side creates too much movement and too little of movement on the opposite side.  Pain can be appreciated in the low back (small of low back), buttock, and can even spread to the hips.  The known cause is often times muscle imbalance of the surrounding soft tissue that attaches to the sacrum or tailbone.

I have found a tool that has proven to help me personally and many clients to help the imbalance and create decreased tension throughout.

The Sacral Wedge was created as a mold to mimic the size and structure of the sacrum.  This wedge isolates the borders of the sacrum to allow gravity to help re-align, relax, and release the muscle surrounding.  I often recommend clients whose sacrum tends to live in misalignment to have the sacral wedge handy at home to help re-balance the hips to decrease strain to the surrounding tissues in the hips and low back before this could lead to irritation on the sciatic nerve.  The wedge comes with instructions on release exercises and use of the wedge. I will typically instruct my patients in clinic on various use of the wedge.  Sometimes even just laying on the wedge for 15-20 minutes is the trick with gravity doing all the work.  This is definitely a fan favorite piece of equipment I like to have on hand for myself and clients to use for the chronic low back and sacroiliac joint dysfunctions.

You can find the Wedge on Amazon (note, this is an affiliate link, but we only post about products we strongly believe can help our clients).