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Sacroiliac Joint Injection

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Description

A sacroiliac joint injection is a diagnostic and therapeutic injection used to determine if your back pain and/or leg pain is originating from the sacroiliac joint.

How it is performed

You will be lying on your stomach for the procedure. After the skin along the injection site is well cleansed, a needle will be placed into your low back near your buttock. The injection is performed under x-ray guidance to confirm that the needle has reached the appropriate area in your back. The injection contains an anesthetic (numbing agent) which temporarily numbs joint, and also contains a steroid medication which helps to reduce inflammation and pain over a longer period of time (usually weeks to months). Contrast medication is often used during x-ray to ensure the medication is reaching the appropriate spot.

The potential benefits

The first goal of the injection is to obtain information by confirming whether or not the sacroiliac joint is causing your back or leg pain. This is achieved with the anesthetic medication in the injection. If you have significant temporary relief of your left or right-sided low back pain following the injection, then the diagnosis of Sacroiliitis / Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is confirmed.

The second goal of the injection is to provide longer relief of the pain, if it is originating from the sacroiliac joint. The steroid medication that is injected into the joint is what helps to achieve this.

It is important to understand that even temporary significant pain relief from the injection gives us useful information to better treat your condition. You may be a candidate for a treatment called radiofrequency neurotomy, which is a procedure that deadens those nerves and can provide much longer pain relief.

The potential risks

Fortunately, the risks of the injection are much lower than the risks of surgery. If side effects occur, they usually resolve on their own within a few days. The most common side effects are temporary soreness at the injection site or a temporary numbness or tingling sensation along the back or buttock. Potential complications can include, but are not limited to, problematic bleeding, nerve damage, or infection. However, these complications rarely occur. There is also a risk that not all of the nerves can be injected during the procedure, due to possible difficulty with visualization under x-ray guidance. In order to reduce this risk and to make sure we get the best result possible from the procedure, we strongly encourage you to follow the “Special Diet” described on your procedure instruction sheet.

What to expect after the procedure

After the injection is completed, you will wait in the recovery room for at least 10 minutes if you did not receive IV sedation for the procedure, or at least 30 minutes if you received IV sedation. When preparing to leave from the facility, you will be given a written sheet containing more detailed discharge instructions. You should make a follow up appointment 1-2 days after the injection, to discuss the results of the injection and to develop a corresponding treatment plan.

Please contact our office at 630-372-1100 if you have any additional questions or concerns.

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