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sacroiliac joint injection, SI Joint, lower back pain, physical therapy, corticosteroid, Houston, Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial City, Humble, Conroe, Beaumont, College Station, Galleria

The sacroiliac joints ( SI joint )are formed between the sacrum (a triangular bone that forms the base of the spinal column) and the ilium (hip bone). A thin layer of cartilage helps the joints articulate, as is the case with the intervertebral joints. Due to their fundamental role in load-bearing and motion, the sacroiliac joints are susceptible to degeneration resulting from repetitive motion, stress, lifting, and excessive use. Patients who suffer from chronic lower back pain may be candidates for sacroiliac joint injections, but accurate diagnosis is essential, given that sacroiliac joint injections administered to a patient with a different condition may be completely ineffective in addressing a patient’s back pain.  Diagnosis is very important in the treatment of lower back pain.  It is not sufficient to treat the symptoms of lower back pain, but it is best to make the best efforts at finding the cause of the lower back pain, and then treat that casue.

Lower back pain experts at the Kraus Back and Neck Institute in Houston TX, have significant experience in helping patients who have been suffering from lower back pain for a short or long period of time.  They treat patients throughout the Houston area, as well as areas neighboring Houston such as the Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial City, Humble, Conroe, Beaumont, College Station, and Galleria.  Patients  also travel from Austin, Dallas / Ft Worth, and San Antonio.

Physicians typically administer several different physical exams to help them reach an accurate diagnosis: the Gillette test, the Faber maneuver, the Fortin finger test, and the Gaenslen test may all be used, depending on where a patient reports pain in the spinal column. All of these physical exams deal with the sacroiliac joints performing a specific kind of motion—if the patient’s mobility is compromised, he or she may be a candidate for sacroiliac joint ( SI joint ) injections. Further consensus is reached by specific imaging tests: CT scans, X-rays, or magnetic resonance imaging, which also help to rule out other causes of lower back pain.

sacroiliac joint injection, SI Joint, lower back pain, physical therapy, corticosteroid, Houston, Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial City, Humble, Conroe, Beaumont, College Station, Galleria

The procedure itself typically involves the injection of a corticosteroid into the sacroiliac joint ( SI joint ). A local anesthetic numbs the injection site, while dye accompanies the injection to ensure  coverage of the sacroiliac joint injection (SI joint ). Corticosteroids act as an anti-inflammatory agent within the joint, ideally reducing pain from load-bearing stress for up to a year. A regimen of physical therapy, proper weight management, and healthy dieting with proper nutrition and nutritional supplements will further help to maximize the positive effects of the procedure. If a patient does not engage in physical therapy to strengthen the support network of muscles around the spinal column, further degeneration of the sacroiliac joint will occur at an accelerated pace.  This could lead to worsening or more chronic lower back pain.  Core strengthening is very important to preventing and improving lower back pain.  If one would eventually require a lower back surgery which involves a fusion, it is important to stop smoking before the spinal fusion surgery, as smoking will decrease likelihood  of a successful fusion of bone occurring.

Since the corticosteroid’s effectiveness will eventually wear off, sacroiliac joint injections are viewed as a short-term solution to reducing a patient’s back pain. Long-term focus must be placed on living a healthy, preventative lifestyle designed to maximize the life of the joint and minimize pain. Physical therapy may include instruction on new ways of lifting, standing, walking, and load-bearing.   If lower back pain is persistent, and the SI joint injections improve the pain, then one can consider rhizotomies (burning of the nerves to the SI joint) of nerves to the SI joint, or SI joint fusion.

The Kraus Back and Neck Institute (KBNI) has vast experience in treating patients with lower back pain.   Patients suffering from lower back pain can call the KBNI to arrange for an evaluation. Patients do not need to have had any types of imaging or other studies.   Lower back pain experts at the Kraus Back and Neck Institute will order the appropriate studies.  In  the majority of cases, lower back pain can be treated without the need for surgery.  If surgery is needed, neurosurgeons at the Kraus Back and Neck Institute have tremendous experience in utilizing the appropriate surgery on the lower back, to get patients back to their normal life as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

Patients in the Houston and surrounding areas (Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial City, Humble, Conroe, Beaumont, College Station, Galleria) are welcome to be evaluated, or come in for questions.

Keywords: sacroiliac joint injection, SI Joint, lower back pain, physical therapy, corticosteroid, Houston, Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial City, Humble, Conroe, Beaumont, College Station, Galleria

sacroiliac joint injection, SI joint, lower back pain, Houston, Katy, Woodlands