Sacroiliac Joint

The Sacroiliac Joint (SI Joint) is a super strong joint that connects the Sacrum to the Ilium of the pelvis. The joint is surrounded by the anterior and posterior sacroiliac ligaments that bind the bones together. Parts of the posterior ligament are so strong that the pelvis will shatter before they will tear.

Sacroiliac Joint

Sacroiliac Joint Pain

This joint is one of the strongest in the human anatomy and bears the weight of the entire upper body. There are 2 distinct variations on pain in the SI joint:

* Sacroiliitis is an inflammatory condition that affects the sacroiliac region. It is often related to arthritic changes in the body and can produce serious pain and disability.

* Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction is a far more common type of SI pain. This condition describes abnormal joint movement which can cause excesive tightness or laxity in the actual SI joint.

Sacroiliac Pain Diagnosis

The diagnosis of SI dysfunction is often made due to severe chronic lower back and sciatic nerve pain, yet absence of some causative spinal abnormality. Patients with this clinical situation are often tested for SI joint dysfunction using the Stork Test. This is a manual manipulation and examination of the SI joint done by a doctor trained in diagnosing SI joint problems. This test will usually either lead to the diagnosis of SI joint dysfunction or possibly further testing resulting in the diagnosis of piriformis syndrome.

Diagnosis is often attempted or confirmed by an injection of anesthetic directly into the painful area of the sacroiliac joint. If the pain goes away, the doctor will consider the SI joint the cause of pain and go about designing a proper treatment program.

Recommendation on the Sacroiliac Joint

This is a very �in vogue� region for pain in recent years. Millions of years of evolution designed a joint that is so strong and almost indestructible, yet in the last 20 years, diagnosis of SI joint problems has reached all time highs. It is amazing how medicine can always find a new area on which to blame unresolved back pain.

The majority of all SI patients have been treated for some other form of back pain in the past. When these treatments did not cure their pain, the original diagnosis was revised, and SI joint dysfunction was indicated. The vast majority of these patients are actually suffering from psychological back pain. The true cure for emotionally induced back pain is knowledge therapy. This method can truly cure the pain and prevent it from returning in some other form of back pain substitute symptom.

Sacroiliac Joint to Cure Back Pain Home page 3/2/07 Revised 6/29/07