2009 Volume 18 Issue 11 Pages 833-838
Study Design: A retrospective study of consecutive patients. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of sacroiliac joint block on sacroiliac joint pain as a treatment and a diagnostic procedure, and to define its coexistence with other lumbar diseases. Background: Sacroiliac joint (SJ) pain is a challenging condition accounting for 10〜20% cases of chronic low back pain. As SJ pain dose not have specific neuroimaging findings, diagnosis is typically made by SJ block. However, the efficacy of SJ block has not been fully reported. In addition, there are a few reports of SJ pain coexisting with other lumbar diseases. Method: SJ block was performed on 72 patients with suspected SJ pain as determined by neurological findings. SJ blocks were applied in the upper, middle and lower parts of the SJ with 0.2% Ropivacaine. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was recorded before and after the procedure. Coexisting lumbar diseases and past lumbar surgeries were also recorded by review of the patients medical records. Results: The average age of 72 patients was 62.1 years old (range 21〜88 years old). There were 39 males and 33 females. Forty-six patients (63.9%) had pain relief with a 52.4% improvement on VAS. SJ pain accounted for 14.1% of all patients with low back pain. Thirty-six patients (78.3%) had other lumbar diseases. Conclusions: SJ pain should be considered as one factor of chronic low back pain in patients with lumbar disease. SJ block is useful not only as a diagnostic but also as a treatment option.
