Diagnostic sacroiliac joint injections: Is a control block necessary?

Osteopathic approach to sacroiliac joint pain in pregnant patients

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the management of sacroiliac (SI) joint pain in pregnant patients. Although SI joint pain is highly prevalent among pregnant patients, the unique anatomy of the joint is rarely discussed in a clinical setting. This paper provides comprehensive review of the epidemiology, anatomy, alarm findings, standard treatment, osteopathic assessment, and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) of the SI joint, and it provides a general and in-depth understanding of the SI joint pain in pregnant patients and its management.

Management of Sacroiliac Joint Pain

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ)-based pain can be difficult to diagnose definitively through physical examination and conventional radiography. A fluoroscopically guided injection into the SIJ can be both diagnostic and therapeutic. The initial phase of treatment involves nonsurgical modalities such as activity modification, use of a sacroiliac (SI) belt, NSAIDs, and physical therapy. Prolotherapy and radiofrequency ablation may offer a potential benefit as therapeutic modalities, although limited data support their use as a primary treatment modality. Surgical treatment is indicated for patients with a positive response to an SI injection with >75% relief, failure of nonsurgical treatment, and continued or recurrent SIJ pain. Percutaneous SI arthrodesis may be recommended as a first-line surgical treatment because of its improved safety profile compared with open arthrodesis; however, in the case of revision surgery, nonunion, and aberrant anatomy, open arthrodesis should be performed.