Tried Everything for Your Back Pain? Before the MRI, Get Your Pelvis Checked

Like the woman in the photo, you end up curled on your side, knees pulled up to your chest, because lying on your back makes your lower back ache. It's the only way you can get comfortable, and it's been like this for weeks, maybe months.

You've done an X-ray. You've taken the tablets. You've done the exercises you found online, maybe even a few physiotherapy sessions. Nothing has really changed. Now you're thinking about an MRI, hoping it will finally explain what's going on.

Before you do, there's something many people haven't had checked: the position of their pelvis.

What a pelvic misalignment means

Your pelvis is the base your spine sits on, a bit like the foundation of a house. If one side sits slightly higher, tips forward or twists, your lower back has to work around it all day and all night. You won't see it in the mirror, and it often doesn't show on an X-ray or MRI, because those pictures are taken while you lie still. It shows up in how your pelvis sits and moves when you stand, bend and walk.

Signs your pelvis may be part of the problem

• Lying flat on your back makes your lower back ache
• You sleep best on your side with your knees bent
• One side of your back or hip hurts more than the other
• One leg feels slightly "shorter", or your trousers sit unevenly
• Pain eases when you walk but returns when you stand still or sit long
• Exercises and tablets help a little, then the pain comes back

Why treatment may not have worked so far

If the pelvis is out of position, painkillers only quieten the pain, and general back exercises can strengthen muscles around a base that is still uneven. The back keeps complaining because the real cause hasn't been found.

How an orthopaedic physiotherapist finds it

At Katasi Physiotherapy, our orthopaedic physiotherapist checks your pelvis by hand: how level each side sits, how each joint moves, and how your hips, back and legs work together. We'll show you exactly where the problem is, then:

• Correct the pelvis with gentle, hands-on joint techniques
• Release the tight muscles that keep pulling it out of line, using hands-on therapy and dry needling
• Strengthen the right muscles so the pelvis stays where it should
• Guide you on sleeping, sitting and standing

Many people notice they can lie on their back more comfortably within the first few sessions.

Should you still do the MRI?

If your doctor has a specific reason for it, follow their advice. But for many people with this pattern, a hands-on pelvic assessment gives answers an MRI can't, and may save you the cost.

Read more: Lower Back Pain at Night? and Can't Sleep Without Painkillers for Your Back?

See a doctor straight away if

You have back pain with fever, unexplained weight loss, numbness or weakness in your legs, loss of bladder or bowel control, or pain that is the same in every position, day and night.

Visit us in Westlands

If nothing has worked so far, let us find out why. Call or visit Katasi Physiotherapy at Kerai Office, Mogotio Road off Muthithi Road, Westlands, Nairobi. Call or WhatsApp 0705 717 353 to book. Open Monday to Friday 7am–6pm and Saturday 8am–4pm.