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Pain in the sacroiliac joint can account for up to 30% of the cases of low back pain and can be severe in many instances. This type of pain affecting the spine can develop from trauma, instability, arthritis, overweight, leg discrepancies and other causes but sometimes it appears spontaneously without apparent cause.
Sacroiliac joint pain is frequently manifested as pain in lower back and buttock and can also closely simulate sciatica or a “pinched nerve” because it can radiate to the leg. Sacroiliac join pain can limit you from performing daily activities such as walking, sitting, lifting objects and so on. The sacroiliac joint pain can also affects the hip and more rarely even the groin region. Surgery might be one option, but less painful and invasive treatment strategies such a sacroiliac injection are frequently used to promptly reduce pain in this condition. The injection will contain medication that will reduce the pain and inflammation in the joint. In addition, a sacroiliac joint injection contains local anesthetics that will assist the physician to confirm the origin of the pain.
The use of a sacroiliac injection is one of the simplest minimally invasive techniques that rapidly help patients obtain pain relief and avoid other more invasive methods such as surgery or taking pain pills. Pain relief following a sacroiliac joint injection, particularly when the source of the pain is properly diagnosed and the injection skillfully performed can be dramatic. Relief can be prolonged especially when the joint is strengthened by rehabilitation techniques. Unfortunately, the pain may recur in some cases but even then, other minimally invasive techniques targeting this joint can also be employed with subsequent success.
It is paramount that a correct diagnosis of your pain is achieved through a neurological examination. When clinically indicated, you can be treated with a sacroiliac injection at St. Michael’s Pain and Spine Clinic in Houston. We specialized in using interventional pain management modalities that target the pain generators by a minute and almost painless skin puncture. These minimally invasive techniques have reduced pain in patients while helping them avoid the complications that can come with open surgery or taking opioid (narcotic) medications.
The staff at St. Michael’s Pain and Spine Clinics specialize in the treatment of many painful conditions affecting patients such as:
Lower back pain
Upper back pain
Leg pain (Sciatica)
Arm and hand pain (carpal tunnel syndrome)
They can also treat pain in the sacroiliac joint without resorting to surgery. At our pain clinics, each patient will have a full understanding of their treatment available, the staff will take the time to explain the reasons and mechanisms of the pain, and the options to treat it or reduce it. In this manner, patients can make informed and reasonable choices when armed with the correct information.
The director of the clinics is Dr. Miguel Pappolla MD, PhD. He has experience and success in helping people afflicted with severe neck and/or back pain , migraines, severe lower back pain, and other painful conditions such as peripheral neuropathies. Dr. Pappolla has board certifications in Pain Medicine, Neurology, Clinical Pathology, Anatomic Pathology, and Neuropathology. He also consults with the National Institutes of Health and has taught medical residents and medical students for more than 20 years as professor and/or faculty member at prestigious American Medical Schools such as the University of Texas at Houston, LSU at New Orleans, and Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City.
For more information about sacroiliac joint injections or to make an appointment, call 832-448-0706.
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