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Sacroiliac joints connect the sacrum, located at the bottom of the lower spine just prior to the tailbone, with hips on right and left sides. Inflammation of cartilage, ligaments and muscles attached to the joints along with hypermobility and hypomobility results in locking, dislocation or subluxation of the joint. Such a condition results in “referred groin, hip and sciatic leg pain” and consequent disability.

Sacroiliac joint injection uses a local anesthetic or a steroid, such as cortisone or a mixture of both. The numbing medication deadens the nerves for sometime preventing their ability to carry pain signals for a temporary period. Steroid in the injection treats the inflammation affecting the SI joint and provide long-term pain relief. To prolong the pain relief, phenol, a neurolytic agent, is also added to the medication.

Diagnostic Use: A SI joint injection is used to assess if the pain symptoms are associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Once the numbing medication is injected, Patients are asked to do activities causing pain prior to the injection. If at least 75 percent relief is visible in the next 2/3 days, an association between joint dysfunction and pain is established. Doctors also give the diagnosis a second chance repeating the procedure to confirm the pain causation. If the second injection confirms the first results, the treatment is planned accordingly.

Pain Relief: A SI joint injection containing a local anesthetic or corticosteroid or a mix of both is injected to the sacroiliac joint to ensure therapeutic benefits. The steroid treats the inflammation responsible for dysfunction of the joint while the numbing agent reduces the pain and restores mobility.

The skin and soft tissues above the sacroiliac joint are numbed with local anesthesia. A needle is inserted under fluoroscopic guidance to reach the sacroiliac joint. First, a contrast dye is injected to confirm the needle position and then, the medication is put in to the needle.

It takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Patients are discharged after a 30-minute observation. They may feel temporary numbness in the buttock and legs due to the spread of medication injected and injection-site soreness. Rest for the remainder of the day is advised. Patients must not stress themselves and do activities beyond they can tolerate.

Pain relief is immediate following a SI joint injection with a Los Angeles pain management doctor. However, pain may return once the numbing medication effects wear off. Steroid starts working after 24 to 36 hours and the best relief is visible in 2/3 days.

The duration of pain relief and the frequency and number of injections vary from patient to patient.

It may last between a few weeks to months at a time. Some patients have first three injections within a gap of one or two week in between and thereafter a gap of months.

Clinical trials have cited 80 to 90 percent pain relief with SI joint injections. A 2000 study published in the Journal of Rheumatology highlighted 1 to 3 moth complete relief in patients with sacroiliac joint pain. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians has also acknowledged 80 percent success rate with SI joint injections.

These injections are safe and without any side effect. Rare risks, such as bleeding, infection, anesthesia allergy, damage to nerves and blood vessels and injury to pelvic organs, may be there when sacroiliac joint injections are administered.