Your lower back pain isn’t getting any better with home remedies. Lately, the pain seems to move into your hip or groin. You need to find out what’s causing this disruption to your daily activities. The problem could be your sacroiliac joint.
Our Interventional Pain Doctors see patients every day with back pain of varied origins. They get to the root of your pain, determining if it stems from your sacroiliac joint.
What is the sacroiliac joint?
Your sacroiliac joints provide the stability you need to walk and move around. The sacrum, the large bone you can feel at the base of your spine, connects your torso to your lower body. You have a sacroiliac joint on each side of the sacrum. The joints connect the sacrum to the large bones in your hips, the ilium. The sacrum and its joints help hold your body upright and give you stability as you go through your day.
What are the symptoms of sacroiliac joint dysfunction?
You can have a variety of symptoms from sacroiliac joint (SI) dysfunction. Following are signs that it may be the root of your discomfort:
- Dull, aching lower back pain that spreads: Although lower back pain can be a symptom of a number of conditions, it’s a marker of SI joint dysfunction. Your pain may not only affect your lower back; it can also spread to your groin, hips, and/or buttocks. One of the most common areas to feel SI joint pain is in the buttocks and upper back or side of the thigh. Pain is typically felt only on one side, but may be felt on both sides.
- Stabbing pain with numbness or tingling: Pain that mimics sciatica in the buttocks and/or backs of the thighs that feels sharp and stabbing and may include numbness and tingling. These symptoms rarely extend below the knee.
- Pain when putting pressure on the joint: Climbing stairs and bending down are movements that put pressure on your SI joint. Your pain may intensify with these types of activities.
- Instability: Does your lower back or abdomen feel like it’s going to cave in so you feel you aren’t supported when you’re walking or trying to sit down in a chair? SI joint dysfunction can cause instability.
- Stiffness: If you can no longer bend over easily or walk up the stairs, it may be your SI joints that are reducing your range of motion below your torso.
Diagnosing Sacroiliac Joint Problems.
SI joint dysfunction symptoms are sometimes similar to sciatica symptoms. To help verify that the SI joint is the issue, an X-ray or MRI can be used to rule out a herniated disc or other musculoskeletal issue. Your doctor can also give you an injection which contains a numbing substance in the joint. If the injection offers you pain relief, the issue stems from the SI joint.
Once you have been diagnosed with SI joint dysfunction, your doctor will provide you with a variety of conservative, noninvasive, and minimally invasive treatments to relieve your pain.
Call or book an appointment online for relief from your lower back pain. We offer state-of-the-art diagnostic testing and treatments to relieve your pain and restore your quality of life.