When your sacroiliac joint is irritable, the most useful information is often what not to do. That low, one-sided ache just below the belt line has a way of flaring up after a stretch class, a long walk, or an exercise that felt perfectly reasonable at the time — and it is frustrating to be made worse by something you did in good faith to help. I see this constantly. The instinct with SI joint pain is to stretch it harder or crack it looser, and both tend to backfire, because the joint is usually already moving more than it should on one side. This article lists the exercises that most commonly irritate the SI joint, explains why, and gives you a safer swap for each so you can keep moving without setting yourself back.
Key takeaway: With SI joint pain, avoid movements that load the pelvis unevenly or push the joint to end range — deep lunges, pigeon and wide straddle stretches, single-leg deadlifts and step-ups, loaded twists, and high-impact activity during a flare. Swap them for symmetrical, controlled work — bridges, clams, dead bugs and bird dogs — and keep walking short and even until the joint settles.
With SI joint pain, avoid exercises that load the two sides of the pelvis unevenly or push the joint to end range while it is irritable: deep lunges, pigeon pose, wide straddle and butterfly stretches, single-leg deadlifts and high step-ups, loaded rotation such as Russian twists, heavy asymmetric lifting, and running or jumping during a flare. Replace them with symmetrical, controlled stabilisation — glute bridges, clams, dead bugs and bird dogs — done within a pain-free range. Sophie Mercer, PMA-certified clinical Pilates instructor, designed an 8-week SI Joint Pain protocol of 32 exercises that calms the joint first and then progressively rebuilds pelvic stability.
What exercises irritate the SI joint?
Almost every SI joint aggravator falls into one of three categories. Understanding the category matters more than memorising the list, because it lets you judge new exercises for yourself.
1. Asymmetric loading — one side of the pelvis pulled away from the other
- Deep lunges and split squats — the trailing leg drags one ilium into extension while the other flexes
- Pigeon pose — an aggressive combination of hip flexion and rotation on one side
- Single-leg deadlifts, high step-ups and single-leg squats — done too early, before the stabilisers can hold the pelvis level
- Warrior poses held for long periods
2. End-range stretching of the pelvic ligaments
- Wide straddle, butterfly and frog stretches — they lever the pelvis open through the very ligaments that are meant to hold the joint closed
- Deep, forced hamstring stretching with the pelvis rolling under
- Yoga-style “hip openers” in general — the SI joint usually needs closing, not opening
3. Rotation and impact under load
- Russian twists, cable woodchops and loaded twisting
- Running, jumping and skipping during a flare — each landing sends a shear force through the joint
- Heavy asymmetric lifting — a suitcase carry or a one-sided kettlebell swing before the pelvis can resist tipping
A fourth, quieter category is everyday asymmetry: standing on one leg to dress, carrying a child on the same hip, sleeping with one knee pulled high, crossing the same leg. These do more cumulative damage than most gym exercises.
Why these movements make it worse
The sacroiliac joint is designed for stability, not motion. It has only a few millimetres of movement and is held together by some of the strongest ligaments in the body, reinforced by the muscles around it — the gluteals, deep hip rotators, adductors, and deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. Clinicians describe two systems at work: the shape of the joint surfaces (form closure) and the muscular compression around them (force closure).
When SI joint pain develops, force closure has usually faltered. The joint on one side is moving slightly too much, the ligaments are irritated, and surrounding muscles grip in protest. That is exactly why aggressive stretching feels good for a moment and worse by evening: it eases the grip, but it also loosens the one thing keeping the joint steady. The path out is the opposite — rebuild the muscular support, then let the gripping go on its own. My broader guide to SI joint pain exercises covers the release-then-stabilise logic in full.
The safer swaps
For every movement above there is a symmetrical, controlled version that trains the same muscles without provoking the joint.
- Instead of lunges → glute bridges, 2 x 10 with a 2-second hold, pressing evenly through both feet
- Instead of pigeon pose → supine figure-four stretch, 30 seconds each side, keeping both hips flat on the mat
- Instead of single-leg deadlifts → bird dog, 2 x 6 each side, reaching long rather than high
- Instead of wide straddle stretches → adductor squeeze, a cushion between the knees, 8 gentle 5-second squeezes
- Instead of Russian twists → dead bug, 2 x 8 each side, low back gently in contact with the floor
- Instead of step-ups → clams, 2 x 12 each side, pelvis stacked and still
- Instead of running → short, even, flat walks, building distance only as the joint allows
If you would like these laid out as a routine you can print, I have formatted exactly that in the SI joint exercises PDF post. The strength progression beyond it is in exercises to strengthen the SI joint, and the stretches that genuinely do help are in stretching exercises for the SI joint.
What are the three tests to tell you if your back pain is caused by SI?
It is worth confirming the joint is actually the source, because lumbar disc pain, hip joint pain and gluteal tendon pain can all mimic it — and the “avoid” list for each is different. A physiotherapist will typically use a cluster of provocation tests, because no single one is reliable on its own. The most commonly cited trio is:
- Thigh thrust — lying on your back, one hip flexed to 90 degrees, the clinician presses down through the thigh to shear the joint
- Distraction — pressure outward on the front of both hip bones, stressing the front of the joint
- Compression — lying on your side, pressure downward through the top hip, stressing the back of the joint
The FABER (figure-four position with pressure on the knee) and Gaenslen tests are usually added. Pain reproduced on three or more, felt low and to one side near the dimple of the back, points toward the SI joint. Pain that travels below the knee with pins and needles is more suggestive of nerve involvement — see my guide to sciatica exercises at home if that sounds familiar. Self-testing is unreliable; these take a clinician a few minutes.
Is it okay to walk with SI joint pain?
Yes — and for most people it is one of the better things you can do, provided the walk is short, flat and even. Walking is rhythmic, symmetrical and gently loads the gluteals. What turns it into an aggravator is stride length and terrain: a long stride, a steep hill, or stairs two at a time each pull one side of the pelvis further than the other. Keep the pace comfortable, shorten the stride a little, and stop before the joint starts to complain rather than after. If a ten-minute walk reliably flares the joint, reduce it, spend two weeks on stabilisation, then rebuild.
What is the fastest way to heal SI joint pain?
Counter-intuitively, the fastest route is the patient one. In the first few days: remove the provoking movements, use gentle release (knee-to-chest, pelvic tilts, figure-four), keep walking short, and sleep with a pillow between the knees. Within the first week, begin symmetrical stability work — bridges, clams, dead bugs — even though it feels less satisfying than a big stretch. Most acute flares settle over two to three weeks this way; recurrent pain takes two to three months because you are changing how the pelvis is supported. See a physiotherapist or doctor if you have numbness or weakness in the leg, any change in bladder or bowel control, fever, or pain following a fall.
How the SI Joint Pain protocol helps
Sophie’s 8-Week SI Joint Pain Program is built around the same principle this article keeps returning to — take away what irritates the joint, then rebuild the support that stops it being irritated. Across 32 exercises in eight weeks it moves from gentle release and basic stabilisation through progressively more demanding pelvic control, so that the lunges, hills and single-leg work you are avoiding today can be reintroduced safely rather than left behind.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Low back and pelvic pain can have several causes; if your pain is severe, radiates down the leg, comes with numbness or weakness, or doesn’t improve, please consult a physiotherapist or doctor before continuing.