Back pain comes in a variety of flavors, as it were. Some back pains are sharp and temporarily debilitating. Others are more like dull aches that never go away. When pain is felt in the lower back, treatment options include sacroiliac injections.
Also known as sacroiliac joint injections (SJIs), the injections rely on a combination of anesthetic medication and corticosteroids to relieve pain. The injections are not appropriate for any other type of pain. But because they work so well at relieving sacroiliac joint pain, they can be used for diagnostic purposes – which is to say proving a doctor’s diagnosis of sacroiliac pain correct.
More About the Sacroiliac Joint
Lone Star Pain Medicine, a Texas pain clinic located in Weatherford, offers SJIs when a patient’s condition warrants it. On their website, they explained that the sacroiliac joint is the joint that connects the spine to the pelvis. Human beings actually have two such joints – one on either side.
The website goes on to explain that the sacroiliac joint wearing out over time is not uncommon. The two joints undergo a lifetime of stress through “the normal practices of walking, standing, and sitting.” Lone Star goes so far as to say the sacroiliac joint is one of the more common joints to degrade as a person ages.
Joint degradation results in the two bones grinding against one another. Nerve inflammation is also fairly common. The combination of the two can lead to significant pain felt mainly in the lower back.
How the Injections Work
SJIs address lower back pain at its origination site. Injecting an aesthetic provides immediate relief while the steroids reduce inflammation over the long term. Keeping inflammation in check can minimize future discomfort for as long as the steroids continue doing their thing.
The injection procedure itself is minimally invasive. A pain doctor will locate the optimal injection site, sometimes with the aid of fluoroscopy, then numb the skin with a local anesthetic. A needle is then inserted and guided to the correct position before medications are injected. The injection instantly bathes the site in anesthetic and steroids.
Pain relief can last anywhere from a few weeks to many months. But patients should be prepared to continue feeling pain for a couple of days after treatment. Once the anesthetic wears off, it can take several days for the steroids to significantly reduce inflammation.
Other Things to Know
Anyone considering sacroiliac joint injections should know a few more things. First, a pain doctor may recommend SGI as a diagnostic tool. Should a patient experience immediate relief following the therapy, it is pretty much a confirmation that the sacroiliac joint is the root cause of the person’s pain. If no relief is realized, the source of pain is likely something else.
Second, there is always the risk of infection when injections are involved. The risk is relatively low, but it exists, nonetheless. Other potential side effects include bleeding, leg weakness, allergic reaction, and nerve damage, though such side effects are rare.
Finally, one last thing to consider is that pain doctors can make no guarantees that SJI will relieve a person’s back pain. The best a doctor can do is recommend the treatment if their diagnosis suggests sacroiliac joint pain. The treatment is definitely not appropriate for conditions involving other root causes.
If you are experiencing persistent lower back pain you believe might be originating in one or both of your sacroiliac joints, ask your doctor about SJI. If your doctor cannot help you, consider asking for a referral to a pain medicine clinic.
