SI problem? No way.....

Ok so I usually don't do posts that don't include pictures, but today is just a picture free post day. I have a patient who I did an eval on 2 days ago. He had everything wrong, any movement hurt and I couldn't really get a handle on what was truly going on. I took 2 hours to do the eval. I pushed, prodded, pulled, pushed some more and finally gave up and did the ultrasound machine. By the end I had him feeling better, but I still had no idea what had worked. He cancelled his appointment yesterday and I was over the moon, because I truly wasn't sure what I was going to do when he came back in. I was completely dreading it and since I was overwhelmed I prayed about it for about 2 seconds last night knowing he would be in today.

He came in today, walking better than he had 2 days ago, using only a cane for support, and telling me that he was better but wasn't sure what had changed exactly. I, again, was clueless. But I started him off with a couple easy exercises while I pulled a game plan together and worked with another patient for a few minutes before handing that off to the PTA. I started asking questions of this man, and he tried his best to explain what he was feeling. Still feeling clueless I started another exam of his back and pelvis.

Now, I need to stop and explain that though SI problems seem to be common, in the PT world they are the exception not the rule. However, as I kept pushing and prodding this patient and getting answers to the questions I was asking was leading me closer and closer to SI which I never think of first!

After an instability test with an SI belt, and some help from my CI we determined that posterior rotation of his left innominate was limited and that was causing pain. So I treated that, which greatly improved his pain! The man hugged me with tears in his eyes thanking me for helping him.

I was over the moon! Still am actually! I'm so happy that I figured something out, that I had no idea what it could be the other day, relieved that I was on the right track with my clinical reasoning, and praising God for his answer to my hurried plea for guidance. It was just another reminder how much God cares for even our small, insignificant worries and doubts. And it helped confirm again for me that I am in this profession for the right reasons and God did lead me here for a reason!