Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Dysfunction in your SI joint is considered to be one of the causes of lower back pain or leg pain. This particular joints is located at the bottom of your spine beneath your lumbar spine but above your tailbone. It connects your small triangular bone located at the bottom of your spine to your pelvis.

This joint is very small and very strong. It is reinforced by the ligaments which surrounded. The joint does not have a lot of motion and it acts as a shock absorbing structure. It also transmits all of the forces of your upper body to your legs and your pelvis.

In some cases pain is caused in this particular area and it is thought that the source of his pain is caused by either too much movement or too little movement. Pain which is felt inside of your lower back where you’re hip might radiate into your groin area if you have hypermobility. If you have too little movement than your pain might be felt on one side of your lower back into my radiate down your leg. This pain typically remains above your knee but in some cases it can extend to the ankle or the foot. This type of pain is similar to sciatica which radiates down your sciatic nerve. This particular condition is one more commonly found in middle-aged women and young women.

How can a personal injury doctor diagnose this dysfunction?

Accurately diagnosing this condition can be quite difficult because the symptoms it portrays mimic other common conditions like facet syndrome, disc herniation, or sciatic pain. The diagnosis will typically be arrived at through a physical examination as well as an injection. Your personal injury doctor will use the physical exam to eliminate any other causes and the injection will be utilized to block the source of pain.

What can be expected during the physical exam?

During the physical examination your AZ Workers Compensation doctor will try to determine if this joint is the cause of your pain by moving the joint. If the movement causes the same pain and there is no other explanation for this pain then the joint may be diagnosed as the source. There are other orthopedic tests which can be used to reproduce the symptoms of this particular dysfunction. Your Workers Compensation doctor may have you I face up on the edge of the table with one leg hanging off the side of the table toward the floor and the opposite and he will then be drawn to the chest to isolate this particular joint. In doing this the doctor can locate the source of the pain as either coming from this joint or coming from another area.

What happens after I have been diagnosed?

Once you have been diagnosed you can undergo injections called joint blocks. These can also be used if your diagnosis is unclear but all signs are pointing toward this problem. This test uses a needle into the exact joint, and the needle is guided by an x-ray. The needle includes a numbing solution and if this injection alleviates the pain then doctors can safely say that this joint was the source of your pain. At this point a steroid solution will be injected to decrease the inflammation in the area and decrease your overall pain.