10 Treatments for SI Joint Dysfunctions

What is SI Joint?

The sacroiliac joints, SI joints are tiny links that connect the spine to the lower back and pelvic bones. They allow a minimal amount of movement and serve as a shock absorber for the spine.

Symptoms of SI Dysfunction

The main symptom is a pain in the groin, thigh, back of the hips and lower back. This pain seems to increase when a person walks, stands, but lets up when a person is lying down.

How is it Diagnosed?

The doctor will first get a medical history on you. These questions might include things past illnesses and injuries. This is to rule out other possible causes, for the pain.

He might do tests, to rule out possible causes. He will then order different types of imagery like an x-ray, MRI, or CT scan.

Any of these will show if you have sacroiliitis, erosion, or fusion of, the SI joint and surrounding bones.

An MRI will give the doctor more details regarding the muscle, ligaments and soft tissue that surrounds the joint. It will show inflammation, accumulating fluid and small fractures the X-ray and CT scans can’t.

He might order a bone scan. This will show the doctor if there’s are abnormal bone structures. It will show an increased activity in the bone, which is caused by things like tumors, fractures, infections, and arthritis.

Sometimes the doctor will inject Lidocaine and corticosteroid into the SI joint, to determine if this is the source of the pain. If it is this joint’s that causing the pain, the injections should bring the patient relief.

The amount of time this relief last depends on the severity of the problem. You can have one injection each month to help alleviate the pain.

Doctors generally use an X-ray machine to help them with this procedure, since the joint is surrounded by muscle and ligaments making it harder to pinpoint its exact location.

Treatment Options

1. Sometimes doctors will suggest you take non- steroid anti-inflammatory agent NSAIDS.like ibuprofen, naproxen.
2. The doctor will often prescribe oral steroids, like prednisone to help relieve the swelling and inflammation.
3. He might suggest you see a physical therapist. They will show you exercises that will stretch the joint and will prevent your muscles to become stiff and sore.
4. Sometimes the doctors will advise you to wear a sacroiliac belt. This is a device that goes around your hips. It will keep the sacroiliac steady, which will alleviate some of the pain
5. Some people find that the different stretching exercises and movements found in yoga help with this type of pain.
6. Many people turn to Pilates for pain relief.
7. Sometimes massaging the area helps relieves the stiff sore muscles. Adding a little bit of warm herbal pain relieving oil will increase the pain relief. I’d suggest Wintergreen, Menthol, Rose, Balm of Gilead, Boswellia, Castor oil, Eucalyptus, Helichrysum, Arnica Oil, and kava. You could try Devils Claw cream
8. There are herbal supplements that will help relieve the pain some they include; Skullcap, feverfew and cat’s claw. They come in pill form. Corydalis also helps relieve pain and it comes in either a powder or oil. Jamaican Dogwood can be made into a tea to help relieve your pain so you can sleep.
9. Sometimes warm, moist heat or soaking in the tub will help relieve the pain.
10. Acupuncture is often used to relieve pain. It’s thought that the tiny needles stimulating your body into releasing endorphins, and other pain-relieving chemicals, into your body. This is what decreases your pain. It’s also thought that the needles overstimulate your neurotransmitters, which causes the pain messages to the brain to stop.

Surgery

Sometimes if all else has failed fusion surgery is needed. What happens is the cartilage is removed. The SI joint is held down with pins and screws until it grows, fuses together.

Sacroiliitis

This is another disorder of the SI Joint. It is the inflammation of the joint. It’s usually caused by injury, sudden impact, accidents, ankylosing spondylitis and some types of arthritis.

Lifting something improper, or lifting something heavy can cause this to occur.  It can also be caused by pregnancy and childbirth.

Some bacteria’s might cause Sacroiliitis. What happens is the ligaments around the joints become inflamed, which eventually leads to tearing. This will allow for additional movement, which causes changes in the SI joints.

Symptoms

The symptoms include pain and stiffness in your buttock, back, hips and thighs. The pain is worse in the morning, and after a person sits for a long time.

This pain can also be felt in the shoulders. It also increases when a person walks.This can also cause eye inflammation, psoriasis, low-grade temperature and bloody diarrhea.

Treatments

The doctor will suggest you rest and take anti-inflammatory medicines like naproxen and ibuprofen. He might advise you to see a physical therapist for stretching techniques.

They will show you different exercises you can do to help strengthen your muscles and prevent stiffness.

In addition, the doctor might do a variety of injections like cortisone shots and a local anesthetic, in the joint.

He might prescribe DMARDs disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Like Azulfidine, and Rheumatrex.

These will prevent further damage from occurring. It will also slow down the progression of the disease if taken early.

It often takes a while for your body to accumulate enough medicine to see an effect, so they are generally given with NSAIDs and corticosteroid injections.

He might prescribe TNF inhibitors. These medicines block your body’s natural inflammation response. This will decrease swelling which decreases pain.  Some of these medicines might include Enbrel and Remicade.

Disorders of the SI joint can cause pain in the back, hips thighs, buttocks and shoulders. This pain worsens when a person walks, stands or sits for a long time.

This pain can be so excruciating that it can cause someone to have difficulty with their mobility.