Our dependence on traditional Western medicine causes us to be suspicious of medical treatments that do not involve a prescription or a surgical procedure. But there are plenty of therapies that do not fit the traditional bill. Sacroiliac joint injections (SI) are a perfect example.
SI is an injection therapy used both to diagnose and treat pain experienced in the sacroiliac joints. These two joints connect the pelvis with the base of the spine. When they experience some sort of injury or disease, a patient is likely to feel pain in the lower back, buttocks, or upper leg.
Diagnostic and Treatment Purposes
Sacroiliac joint injections are among the many therapies offered by Weatherford, Texas-based Lone Star Pain Medicine. Their doctors use the injections for both diagnostic and treatment purposes. In a diagnostic setting, the doctor wants to confirm what he believes is causing a patient’s pain. If the injections prove successful, his diagnosis is correct.
From a treatment standpoint, SI typically targets pain being experienced on one or both sides of the lower spine. This is typically pain in the buttocks that potentially radiate to the groin or the back of the legs. Rarely does sacroiliac pain extend below the knee.
Problems with the sacroiliac joints could result from osteoarthritis or a similar degenerative condition. The pain could also be the result of:
- Recent or prior trauma
- Strain related to pregnancy
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Recent or past spinal surgery
Unfortunately, SI does not fix the underlying problem. Its main purpose is to relieve pain. Some patients experience immediate pain relief that lasts for months at a time. Others enjoy limited temporary relief that quickly fades. The only way to know whether it will work for a particular patient is to try it. Visit Lone Star for more information.
A Simple, Outpatient Procedure
SI is administered through a simple outpatient procedure. The patient lies on an exam table, face down. A topical anesthetic is applied to numb the skin. Then, a needle is inserted into the back and guided – via fluoroscopy – to the appropriate location where the doctor injects a combination of anesthetic and steroid medication.
The anesthetic provides immediate relief. Meanwhile, the steroids go to work to reduce inflammation. This is where the long-term pain relief comes in. As long as inflammation is kept in check, the patient feels better.
Lone Star doctors say that SI injections are sometimes recommended to relieve a patient’s pain effectively enough to allow participation in physical therapy. The physical therapy ultimately strengthens surrounding muscles and improves joint health, helping the patient feel better without requiring additional injections.
What Patients Can Expect
The entire SI procedure takes only a few minutes. Yet doctors tend to want to monitor patients for 20-30 minutes before releasing them. Once the topical anesthetic wears off, it is normal for a patient to experience pain at the injection site. It normally fades in a couple of days.
As for the patient’s back pain, it is normal to experience a temporary ‘pain spike’ once the injected anesthetic wears off. This spike typically occurs within the first 24 hours. By the end of the second day, most people begin to feel relief as inflammation dies down.
Maximum pain relief usually arrives within the first week. As for how long relief lasts, it varies by patient. Some patients see only a few weeks’ relief while others go for months with no need for another injection.
It’s Real Medicine
Some people view SI as voodoo or quackery. It is neither. SI is real medicine that offers pain relief to patients who have otherwise not found it in traditional treatments.