Sacroiliac Joint Pain (SIJ)
What is the sacroiliac joint?
The two sacroiliac joints are located at the bottom of the back, above the buttocks.
The joint connects the spine to the pelvis.
You can see the approximate location of the joints by looking for the “dimples” on your backside.
What is sacroiliac dysfunction?
Sacroiliac dysfunction means that one of both of the sacroiliac joints move improperly.
They may be too stiff, allowing no movement, or too lax, allowing too much movement.
Movements is only about 2 mm but can cause pain if the muscle pull between the two sides are imbalanced
Improper mechanics leads to increased stress through the joints.
What are the symptoms seen in SI joint dysfunction?
Patients often have pain in the low back (isolated to one side), which can radiate into the hip.
There may be increased pain with standing or walking or sitting.
When SI Joint inflammation has been present for a long time, the piriformis muscle may become tight, and cause symptoms of sciatic nerve compression, or in other words, pain shooting down the back of the leg.
What causes sacroiliac joint pain?
Pain and inflammation can be a result of trauma, poor posture, decreased core strength/stability, arthritis, and repetitive movements.
How is sacroiliac joint dysfunction diagnosed?
The physician can diagnose this condition with the physical exam.
The patient will have pain over the joint and ligaments are stretched.
Leg length differences may also be apparent, but this is due to improper movement of the joint rather than a true difference in length.
X-ray, CT, and MRI tests may not show any abnormality and therefore are not useful in making this diagnosis.
What is the treatment?
Physical Therapy will show you stretching techniques to mobilize the joint and exercises to strengthen the muscles of the lower back, abdominal, hip, and thigh to stabilize the joint.