Sacroiliitis

Sacroiliitis

Introduction:

Sacroiliitis is inflammation of one or both sacroiliac joints, situated where your lower spine and pelvis connect. Sacroiliitis may cause pain in the buttocks or lower back, and can extend down one or both legs. Pain can worsen after exhaustion for long periods or climbing stairs.

Sacroiliitis may be difficult to diagnose, as its causes can be mistaken for other causes of low back pain, and it has been linked to a group of diseases causing inflammatory arthritis of the spine. Its treatment mainly involves medications and physiotherapy.

What is Sacroiliitis?

Sacroiliitis (inflammation of the posterior pelvic joint) is considered one of the main causes for low back pain, and usually patients having this condition confuse it with lumbar disc prolapse, sciatica or lumbar spondylosis, but after thorough medical examination they are finally diagnosed with Sacroiliitis. The physician may need further imaging tests like x-ray or MRI scan to confirm the diagnosis and start treatment.

Symptoms of Sacroiliitis:

The pain associated with Sacroiliitis most commonly affects the buttocks and lower back. It can also affect legs, the groin and even feet. These factors can aggravate Sacroiliitis pain:

• Exhaustion for long periods.
• Bearing more weight on one leg than the other.
• Climbing stairs.
• Running.
• Walking strides.

Management:

If the patient has mild symptoms, the physician may prescribe some analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs along with simple exercises or physiotherapy sessions, and usually these measures help treat simple cases of Sacroiliitis.

If the patient has moderate to severe symptoms, then we need to perform minimally invasive intervention by injecting anti-inflammatory substances, then injecting synovial fluid or platelet-rich plasma either inside the affected joint or its associated ligaments which may also cause pain. These interventions are done under local anesthesia and recommended sterilization measures, under guidance of latest ultrasound devices to monitor the needle during injection of the joint or its associated ligaments.