Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

What is the sacroiliac joint?

The sacroiliac joints connect your left and right hip bones to your sacrum, a bone at the base of your spine. While most joints enable you to bend and flex parts of your body, the sacroiliac joints have very little mobility because their primary role is providing stability.

When you walk, run, or jump, your sacroiliac joints transfer weight and energy between the upper and lower body. They also absorb shock traveling up your legs.

The movement in a sacroiliac joint is minimal, but if anything causes dysfunction, it can result in lower back, hip, buttock, and/or groin pain. If inflammation or joint damage irritates the nerves in your pelvis, you may develop pain and sensations like tingling, prickling, numbness, and weakness that travel down one or both legs.

Sacroiliac joint pain often worsens if you sit for a long time and then get up. Activities like running and climbing stairs can also trigger a pain flare-up.

What causes sacroiliac joint dysfunction?

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction develops when there’s not enough (or, in some cases, too much) movement in the joint. The condition can be due to:

• Arthritis
• Ligament sprains
• Traumatic injuries
• Repeated lifting or bending
• Excessive jogging

Women often develop sacroiliac joint dysfunction during pregnancy. This is because ligaments in the pelvis naturally weaken and lengthen as delivery approaches.

How is sacroiliac joint dysfunction treated?

Initial treatment for sacroiliac joint dysfunction includes physical therapy and stretching exercises, with anti-inflammatory medications to manage pain and reduce inflammation. Many people find this works well to relieve their symptoms.

If your sacroiliac joint pain persists, SEPA Pain and Spine offers advanced treatments such as:

Joint injections

Sacroiliac joint injections deliver powerful anti-inflammatory steroid medication directly into the joints. Your provider uses real-time imaging technology to guide the needle, ensuring minimal tissue damage and exceptional precision.

Orthobiologic injections

Injections of healing cells taken from your body or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from your blood may be beneficial for some patients to promote healing and tissue regeneration.

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation uses heat to destroy the nerve causing pain.

Spinal cord stimulation

If no other treatments work, spinal cord stimulation can help. It involves having an implant under your skin that sends mild electrical impulses to the nerves, preventing pain messages from reaching your brain.

Call SEPA Pain and Spine today or book an appointment online for expert relief of sacroiliac joint dysfunction.