i’m homebound now so i only have to sit in something that isn’t our recliner couch when i go to the doctor, but back in postgrad i would take my si cushion in my backpack or sitting on it in my mobility scooter & never sit in a chair without it. the added elevation kinda aggravated my knee pain, so i started bringing the cheapest, widest lap desk i could find bungee-corded to my mobility scooter & would take that off, set it up on the ground, & prop my feet up on it. honestly i didn’t gaf back then like what the hell 😂😂 i hurt way too bad to give a shit about abled opinions

the lumbar support pillows i have a smaller, squishier one for sitting in the couch recliner & a larger, firmer one for laying on my back in the bed. it hurts like shit lol but it helps a looot with that like passive stretch. that under my lumbar spine + regular pillow under my knees stretches it so good just laying on my back in bed.

idk how many of you know this so i’ll tack it on here but if you have ankylosing spondylitis it can help neck pain to use a flat pillow! my current one is just flattened by being old as hell but i’ve previously used one marketed to toddlers bc those are made to be as flat as possible. the reason is bc a thicker pillow pushes your neck more into a certain position, generally forward or to one side, which can make morning stiffness & pain worse. some people stop sleeping with a pillow at all but my pain is better with cushioning (i usually sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs & a pillow between my arm & head, & squishy stuffed animals between my hands & the mattress) so i still need one, & when i first switched from a thick memory foam pillow to the toddler one my neck pain got improved So Much literally overnight

Me:

My depression with all these constant doctors appointments and constant invalidation of my pain has made me spiral a lot recently.

But I’m starting to take more steps towards self care I’m working on finding a therapist, I have a pain psychologist, I’m working towards getting a new primary care doctor, annnd I’m working on my writing and trying to perfect my art.

I have always loved crafts, photography, and I love to color and draw but I can get better!

I decided that since I’m working on writing again now is a good time as any to make myself a Ko-Fi! I have plenty of friends who have one and I thought I would share myself with people!

I am by no means “begging” for money! I just wanted to touch base with you guys and let you know how I’m doing, that I am writing again, and that I am trying to get in a better place. The Ko-Fi is just I little side thing!

https://ko-fi.com/brickgirl101

so what a subluxation looks like / “counts” as can to a certain extent vary depending on the joint, but pain with a feeling of something being out of place are imo the key signs of a subluxation. remember that this is a smaller movement out of place than a dislocation so you aren’t dealing with the same extent of damage (tendon & ligament tears, greater nerve damage, etc) that would cause the type of severe acute pain you’re thinking of.

not that subluxations can’t be very painful! but for me (obv this is just anecdotal) the vast majority of my si joint subluxations aren’t a sharp, acute pain but a dull, vague, intense ache or offness that i often don’t realize how bad it is until i do a lumbar extension stretch or something similar. for years the only recognizable symptoms of my si joint dysfunction were knee pain & migraines (both of which had other causal factors as well but improved/worsened in tandem with relocation/subluxation).

a surefire sign of si joint subluxation is if it feels like something in your lower back that’s “out of line” is physically blocking you from standing upright at the hips. i’ve only had this issue severely/significantly twice, with a handful of more minor times, so it’s definitely not a requirement though!

relatedly, si joint dysfunction is often worsened by sitting upright, so if you recognize worse pain, stiffness, out of place ness, etc after standing up from sitting in a chair that’s probably what’s happening

the si joint is not supposed to have much movement so imo it’s safe to assume you have some sort of si joint dysfunction going on! it’s super common in ankylosing spondylitis but also can occur with any kind of more generalized hypermobility.

i’ve been meaning to make a post about the stretches i do because i’ve modified some for accessibility but until i get that up feel free to dm me for the sources i use! there are a lot of good sets out there if you just look at si joint dysfunction articles, i’d just suggest really going gentle & staying within your limits because i once herniated a disc trying to get my si joint back in place & let me tell you that was Worse.

oh bestie i highly recommend looking through my ankylosing spondylitis tag. that absolutely sounds like si joint dysfunction which basically means that sucker loves to pop partially out of place, it’s often a symptom of AS & can co-occur with forms of generalized hypermobility like hEDS. idk if you’ve gotten rheumatology bloodwork before but AS can occur without visible inflammation on MRI it’s just unfortunately very difficult to get diagnosed