This injection procedure is performed to relieve pain caused by arthritis in the sacroiliac joint where the spine and hip bone meet. The steroid medication can reduce swelling and inflammation in the joint.
A sacroiliac injection is an injection of a steroid or other medication into a sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joints are located on either side or the sacrum or tailbone. They connect the tailbone to the pelvis. A sacroiliac joint injection is designed to diagnose and treat pain and inflammation from sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Either too much or too little movement in one of the sacroiliac joints, which are located at the bottom of the spine on each side of the sacrum, can cause lower back pain and/or leg pain. An injection in the sacroiliac joint usually has two goals: to confirm the sacroiliac joint as the source of the pain, and to alleviate that pain.
The procedure begins with the patient lying on his or her stomach. The area around the sacroiliac joint is numbed with an injection of a local anesthetic. Then, using fluoroscopy dye and X-rays to assist in guiding the injection, a needle is inserted into the sacroiliac joint to deliver medicine directly to the source of pain.
The medication injected into the joint can be a local anesthetic, such as lidocaine or bupivacaine, and may also include an anti-inflammatory medication, such as a corticosteroid. If the local anesthetic provides immediate pain relief, it diagnoses the sacroiliac joint as the source of the patient’s pain. The anti-inflammatory steroid may relieve pain in the sacroiliac joint over a longer period of time, possibly for weeks or months, allowing the patient to pursue physical therapy.
It is typically done with the patient lying on the stomach and usually done under x-ray. The skin in the back is cleaned with antiseptic solution and then the skin may be numbed with local anesthetic. The injection needle is then placed under X-ray guidance. Once in place, the injection is carried out. After the injection, the needle is removed and a Band Aid is applied. Immediately after the sacroiliac injection, you may feel that your pain may be gone or quite less. This is due to the local anesthetic injected. This will last only for a few hours. Your pain may return and you may have soreness at the injection site for a day or two. This is due to the mechanical process of needle insertion as well as initial irritation from the steroid itself. You should start noticing pain relief in a few days.
