I’m glad it’s better now. It does sound like an IS/SI joint problem; these frequently clear up on their own. Still, I’d recommend having someone treat it the next time it flares up and having them show you how to treat it yourself (and self-treatment is possible in less severe cases).
My reasoning is this: The joint is held together by ligaments and the roughness of the articular surfaces of the sacrum and ilia. If the joint stays out of position for long, there may be a permanent elongation of the ligaments which will lead to long-term instability of the joint. Secondly, as the joint moves outside the anatomically-correct positions (it is designed to move only about one degree, which is so small that some back surgeons with allopathic, i.e. “MD” training rather than osteopathic training, will tell you that the joint does not move!), there is the possibility of eroding the articular surfaces. As these surfaces get smoother from grinding in the incorrect position, the joint becomes less stable.
No, I don’t know of any studies or data to support my contention, but it makes anatomical sense and I’ve run it past other PTs who agreed. Anecdotally, I’ve seen two people with chronic IS/SI joint instability and their situations seemed to fit my hypothesis. Basically, I had a patient who could not even roll over in bed without this joint making an audible pop–and the guy was literally bedfast due to back pain. Getting onto a bedside commode was torture. An extreme case but it was unforgettable. The other guy, whom I’ve known personally for over 20 years, had a sports injury to the joint about 20 years ago. When he was injured, he just spent about six weeks letting the joint heal up on its own and has had IS/SI episodes at least a couple of times per year ever since. I strongly suspect that had he had treatment at the time of the injury, he would have been healed up in a couple of weeks and had fewer if any subsequent problems.
As for chiropractors...oy vey. There was an "expose" of sorts in a consumer mag a few years ago about how chiropractors pad their practices. Basically, joint mobilization like chiropractors and DO's perform (to "pop" the joint) is ideal for certain acute injuries, but this three times a week for months stuff verges on fraud from what I can tell. (A Rand study chiropractors are fond of citing indicates that chiropractic is the most effective treatment yada yada yada. What the chiroprators don't tell you is that this is for *acute* orthopedic injuries--i.e. like during the first couple of weeks at most. After that acute phase--for certain problems--you need something else. And some chiropractors apparently honestly believe they can cure cancer with chiropractic!!!! No, I'm not making that up!!! They've turned an insight into a mania! And then some of these losers, in my state, attempted to give chiropractors the exclusive right to treat the spine, thereby putting many physical therapists out of business, physical therapists who have spent years of extra training in many different schools of thought on back treatment and who each have literally hundreds of satisfied patients! And, some of these chiropracors advertise that they perform "physical therapy" in their ads, i.e. they give hot packs and massages! (As you can imagine, there were some legal moves to end this use of the term "physical therapy").
Do I hate all chiropractors? No. Some I’m sure would be worth entrusting with my life. (A DO whom I respect makes quiet referrals to some chiropractors he respects, so I know such chiropractors exist.) But the field is inclined to overreaching (e.g. curing cancer and literally every other ailment through manipulative therapy) and is populated with some incredibly unscrupulous folks due to a lack of self-policing. (In fairness, the medical profession needs to police itself better, but it is still better than the chiropractic field.)
Okay, okay. Breath slowly and deeply. Imagine a verdent forrest…Maybe I need to go do a few squats!