How to Sit with SI Joint Pain: Posture and Seated Exercises – Healthline

You have one sacroiliac (SI) joint on either side of your body where your ilium and sacrum bones join together. Your sacrum is the wide, flat bone between your tailbone and lumbar spine. Your ilium is often referred to as your hip bone.

Unlike many other joints like your knee or elbow, your SI joint moves very little and is held together with thick ligaments. Sudden injuries or repetitive stress can cause the SI joint to become inflamed and painful. You may feel this pain in your buttocks or lower back.

Sitting for extended periods of time can lead to pain in your SI joint or aggravate existing pain. However, certain positions are less likely to cause pain than others.

Keep reading to learn the best sitting, standing, and lying positions if youre dealing with SI joint pain.

The ligaments in your SI joint help transfer force between your trunk and your leg when performing activities like walking or running. If youre dealing with SI joint pain, sitting in positions that put these ligaments under tension may lead to further pain and irritation.

When sitting in a chair, you should aim to keep your hips neutral to avoid excess stress on the ligaments in your SI joint. Think about keeping your hips level with each other and avoid rotating more to one side.

Avoid positions that hike one hip higher or put create an asymmetry in your hips, such as when you cross your legs.

Heres how you can sit with good posture to help manage SI joint pain:

The tailors position is another option for keeping your pelvis neutral and reducing stress on the ligaments on your SI joint. You should focus on keeping your hips symmetrical.

If sitting is giving you pain, you may want to alternate between sitting and standing. If youre using a standing desk, heres how you can set it up:

Chair exercises and stretches may help you reduce pain and stiffness around your SI joint and help strengthen muscles around the joint.

This simple seated backbend stretch may help you reduce lower back stiffness.

The seated cat-cow stretches and strengthens the muscles in your back and core.

A seated torso stretch is an easy way to mobilize your spine.

The seated hamstring stretch helps you loosen your hamstrings and may help alleviate pain from muscle imbalances.

If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, finding a comfortable office chair may help you reduce SI joint pain. You should look for:

No matter what chair youre sitting in, its a good idea to take frequent breaks from sitting about every 30 minutes.

Many people with SI joint pain find that it gets worse when they stand for extended periods of time.

Standing with good posture can help keep your spine in alignment and may help you manage your SI joint pain. When standing:

Its generally best to avoid sleeping on your stomach if youre dealing with neck or back pain. Sleeping on your stomach puts more stress on your spine. If you do sleep on your stomach, try putting a pillow beneath your abdomen.

If youre having SI joint pain on one side, you may want to sleep on your opposite side to take your weight off the joint. Putting a pillow between your knees and ankles can help put your hips in alignment.

Another sleeping posture to take the stress off your SI joint is to sleep on your back with one or two pillows under your knees to put your hips in a neutral posture.

If youre dealing with SI joint pain, you should aim to sit with your hips neutral and with your lower back relaxed and supported. If your chair doesnt provide support, you can put a pillow or cushion behind your lower back.

Even if you sit with perfect posture, taking frequent breaks about every 30 minutes is important.

More here:
How to Sit with SI Joint Pain: Posture and Seated Exercises - Healthline