The human body has two sacroiliac joints that are located on both sides of the lower spine and connect the lumbar spine to the hip joints. These SI joints are designed to bear the weight of your body when you stand, walk, and transition from a seated to a standing position. Often times, these joints can become arthritic causing chronic low back and hip pain. Patients may experience pain on both sides of the low back and hips or just one side. Injections into these joints by a trained specialist can be used to treat long term back and hip pain caused by SI joint dysfunction.
During a Sacroiliac Joint injection, the patient is placed faced down in a comfortable position on a surgical table. The surgical site is identified in the lower lumbar region and the site is then prepped in a sterile fashion. The skin and soft tissue are numbed with anesthetic. Once the needle placement has been verified by x-ray, the medications are injected into the SI joint space. The injection site is then wiped clean and a Band-Aid is applied. The patient is placed in a comfortable post procedure area and monitored for a short time. The patient is then released to go home with post procedure instructions and a driver.
