A painful sacroiliac joint is one of the most common causes of mechanical low back pain. Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction is a term that is used to describe the condition – because it is still unclear why this joint becomes painful and leads to low back pain.
Causes
- Traumatic injury. A sudden impact, such as a motor vehicle accident or a fall, can damage your sacroiliac joints.
- Arthritis.
- Pregnancy.
- Infection.
Symptoms
- Sciatic-like pain in the buttocks and/or backs of the thighs that feels hot, sharp, and stabbing and may include numbness and tingling
- Stiffness and reduced range-of-motion in the lower back, hips, pelvis, and groin, which may cause difficulty with movements such as walking up stairs or bending at the waist
- Low back pain
- The pain can radiate down the leg
- The pain may radiate into the groin area
- People often feel muscle spasm in one or both of their buttocks muscles
- Uncomfortable to sit flat in a chair
Treatment
Surgery
- Surgery may be considered if other treatments don’t work. Surgery consists of fusing the painful SI joint. A fusion is an operation where the articular cartilage is removed from both ends of the bones forming the joint. The two bones are held together with plates and screws until the two bones grow together, or fuse, into one bone. This stops the motion between the two bones and theoretically eliminates the pain from the joint.