Réhabital
Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction Treatment in Côte Saint-Luc
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is one of the most frequently missed causes of low back pain. Unlike a disc problem, the pain usually sits on one side only, just below the belt line, and flares when you stand up from a chair, climb stairs or roll over in bed. At Réhabital in Côte Saint-Luc, on the island of Montréal, we use a recognized cluster of provocation tests to confirm that your pain really comes from this joint, then build a plan that combines hands-on treatment with targeted stabilization work.
Book an AppointmentUnderstanding This Condition
The sacroiliac joint connects the sacrum to the pelvis on each side. It moves only a few millimetres, yet it transfers the entire load of the trunk into the legs, which makes it sensitive to asymmetries in mobility and muscle control. Dysfunction appears when the joint becomes either too stiff or insufficiently stabilized by the deep pelvic muscles. Distinguishing it from other sources matters: a lumbar disc herniation typically radiates below the knee with neurological symptoms, hip osteoarthritis produces groin pain with restricted rotation, and piriformis involvement gives a deeper, more diffuse buttock ache. Sacroiliac pain, by contrast, is usually pointed at: patients place a finger on a precise spot beside the sacrum and rarely describe pain travelling below the knee. Pelvic compression and distraction, the thigh thrust, the FABER test and Gaenslen's test — when three or more are positive — strongly implicate this joint.
Common Symptoms
Common Causes
Pregnancy and postpartum
Hormonal changes increase pelvic ligament laxity and the growing baby shifts the load. Sacroiliac pain is one of the most common complaints in pregnancy and can persist for months after delivery if stability is not rebuilt gradually.
Direct trauma or a sudden awkward movement
A fall onto the buttock, a missed step, landing on one leg or a car accident can load the joint abruptly and trigger lasting irritation of its ligaments and capsule.
Asymmetric hip or spinal mobility
A stiff hip or a hypomobile lumbar segment forces the sacroiliac joint to compensate with every step. That repeated overload eventually irritates the surrounding structures.
Poor stabilizer control
The gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and deep trunk muscles lock the pelvis during single-leg stance. When they are weak or poorly recruited, the joint absorbs shear forces it was never designed to tolerate.
Repeated one-sided loading
Always carrying a child on the same hip, long driving hours, standing with a preferred weight-bearing side or practising a one-sided sport keeps constant strain on one half of the pelvis.
Our Treatment Approach
Assessment with Shahram Ghasemi, MD (Iran), DOMP, starts with a precise history followed by the provocation test cluster — compression, distraction, thigh thrust, FABER, Gaenslen — to confirm a sacroiliac origin and rule out disc or hip pathology. Osteopathic treatment combines gentle articular techniques for the pelvis and sacrum, release of the sacroiliac and iliolumbar ligaments, and mobility work at the hips and lumbar junction to remove the strain that keeps feeding the problem. You leave with a short progressive stabilization program — gluteal activation, single-leg control, load transfer drills — because a pelvis that has been mobilized must then be stabilized for results to hold. Massage therapy with Irina Kushnir, Jeanne Andrea Rahantamalala or Cedik Elaiba helps release quadratus lumborum, gluteal and hamstring compensations. Physiotherapy and acupuncture are coming soon to the clinic.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
The first visit takes about 60 minutes: pain history, gait and single-leg stance analysis, sacroiliac provocation testing, examination of the hips and lumbar spine, then a first hands-on treatment. We explain clearly which structure is responsible and why, and you leave with only two or three exercises chosen for your presentation. Follow-up visits run about 45 minutes and adjust the dosage against functional markers that matter to you: rising from a chair, climbing stairs, sleeping without waking.
At-Home Self-Care Tips
- Avoid long periods of standing on one leg.
- Stand up from a chair with both knees level, without twisting.
- Get out of the car by turning both legs together.
- Use a pillow between the knees for side sleeping.
- Do the gluteal activation drills taught in clinic daily.
- Balance bag weight and avoid carrying a child always on the same side.
Prognosis & Recovery Timeline
Most mechanical sacroiliac dysfunctions improve substantially within 4 to 8 weeks when manual treatment is paired with a stabilization program that is actually followed. Pregnancy-related cases usually respond well during pregnancy with adapted techniques and often settle progressively after delivery. Long-standing presentations take longer, especially when the hip or lumbar spine contributes heavily, but function generally improves even when pain does not vanish entirely.
When to See Us at Réhabital
Come in if one-sided low back or buttock pain lasts more than two weeks, if standing up or climbing stairs is difficult, or if the pain returns after every effort. See a physician promptly for numbness in the saddle area, loss of bladder or bowel control, marked leg weakness, fever or unexplained weight loss, or after significant trauma where a fracture is possible.
Why Réhabital Clinic
In Côte Saint-Luc, on the island of Montréal, we never treat the pelvis in isolation: we systematically test the hips and lumbar junction, because sacroiliac dysfunction is almost always the consequence of strain coming from somewhere else. Our plans are measured against concrete markers from your daily life rather than vague impressions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Address
D4-5800 Cavendish Blvd
Côte Saint-Luc, QC H4W 2T5
Phone
(438) 842-3550Hours
Mon–Fri: 10AM–8PM
Sun: 10AM–4PM
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