Sacroiliac Joint Injections

The sacroiliac joint is commonly the cause of buttock or lower back pain on the side (around the waist in the back). The sacroiliac joint is located at the junction of the pelvic bone and sacrum, or in common terms, where the hip bone connects to the tailbone. This large joint becomes irritated from trauma usually or from poor body mechanics such as walking with a limp.

During the procedure, the patient lies face down on the procedure table in a clean operating room. The patient’s vitals signs are collected and checked for appropriateness. The patient’s sacral-iliac junction area is cleaned with an antiseptic and draped using sterile technique. Using fluoroscopic (low dose x-ray) guidance, the area of interest is identified and the skin is anesthetized. Using a small needle, the lower end of the joint is entered using fluoroscopic guidance. Local anesthetic (numbing medications) and steroid is injected at the desired location. The patient may feel pressure as the medicine is injected. The patient may have discomfort where the needle was inserted over the next few days, but this will resolve. The steroid takes approximately 48-72 hours to have full effect, where as the local anesthetic wears off in approximately 8-12 hours. Please allow three days to assess the efficacy of the procedure.