PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Melissa W. Jung
AU  - Kurt Schellhas
AU  - Blake Johnson
TI  - Use of Diagnostic Injections to Evaluate Sacroiliac Joint Pain
AID  - 10.14444/6081
DP  - 2020 Feb 01
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - S30--S34
VI  - 14
IP  - s1
4099  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/s1/S30.short
4100  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/s1/S30.full
SO  - Int J Spine Surg2020 Feb 01; 14
AB  - The sacroiliac joint is a complex, variable, and irregular structure, thought to be the source of 15% to 30% of low back, pelvic, and radicular pain. Several predisposing factors, including prior spinal surgery and particularly lumbar fusion, can contribute to joint inflammation and acceleration of joint degeneration. Evaluation of the sacroiliac joint as a pain generator using history and physical alone can prove difficult, because a number of other pathologies can have a similar presentation. Whereas a number of tests are used to examine the joint, no single test alone has proven validity. Imaging alone has also not been proven efficacious, particularly in nonspondyloarthropathy-mediated pain. Although no “gold standard” exists, diagnostic sacroiliac joint block has been shown to be a useful confirmatory tool in assessing sacroiliac (SI) joint–mediated pain. Sacroiliac joint injection with local anesthetic and steroids can be used as a possible therapeutic endeavor to manage pain and inflammation.