The sacroiliac joint is a large joint in the region of your low back and buttocks. There are two of these. One on each side, When the joint becomes painful it can cause pain in its immediate region or it can refer pain into your groin, abdomen, or leg.
A sacroiliac joint injection serves several purposes. First, by placing numbing medicine into the joint, the amount of immediate pain relief you experience will help confirm or deny the joint as a source of your pain. Additionally, the temporary pain relief of the numbing medicine may better allow a physical therapist to assist in treating the joint. Also, time release cortisone will serve to reduce inflammation within your joint and further assist the physical therapist, if necessary. It is possible to obtain relief from the injection alone without follow-up physical therapy.
Procedure
You will be placed flat on an x-ray table in a face down position. The table is padded and several pillows will be positioned to comfort you. The skin over the injection site will be cleaned with a surgical antibacterial soap. The area will be draped with a sterile barrier to minimize the chance for contamination. Using fluoroscopy (live x-ray) your spine will be examined and the proper location for the injection will be located. The skin will be numbed with a local anesthetic similar to what a dentist uses. Once again using fluoroscopy the needle will be guided into the epidural space and the location confirmed by injecting a contrast dye. This is followed by the steroid and anesthetic mixture. The whole procedure typically takes no more that 10 minutes.
Aftercare
At the completion of the procedure you will be taken to the recovery room and monitored for 20 to 30 minutes.