Sacroiliac Joint Injection in Houston, Texas
The sacroiliac joint is the most consistently overlooked source of low back pain. It sits below the level most spine imaging focuses on, it refers pain in a pattern that mimics sciatica, and no physical exam test identifies it reliably on its own. The reference standard for diagnosis is an injection.
What is a Sacroiliac Joint Injection?
An SI joint injection places local anesthetic — and usually corticosteroid — directly into the joint space under fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance.
Because the joint is deep, irregular, and surrounded by dense ligament, image guidance is not optional. Blind injections miss the joint a substantial fraction of the time, which is precisely why unguided injections produce unreliable diagnostic information.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before | You're positioned, the skin is cleaned and numbed, and live imaging (fluoroscopy or ultrasound) guides the needle |
| During | The medication is placed precisely at the sacroiliac joint; most people feel pressure more than sharp pain |
| After | You rest briefly and go home the same day — arrange a driver if you received sedation |
Diagnosis and Treatment in One
Diagnostic: if local anesthetic in the joint substantially relieves your familiar pain, the SI joint is confirmed as the pain generator.
Therapeutic: the corticosteroid reduces inflammation within the joint, often producing relief that outlasts the anesthetic by weeks or months.
A positive diagnostic response also identifies patients who may benefit from radiofrequency ablation of the lateral branch nerves, which supply sensation to the joint and can be interrupted for longer-lasting relief.
Who It Helps
- Pain below the belt line, usually on one side, that the patient can point to with one finger
- Buttock and groin pain
- Referred pain down the back of the thigh, typically stopping above the knee
- Pain after lumbar fusion, where the SI joint absorbs transferred load
- Post-partum pelvic girdle pain
- Pain after a fall onto the buttock or a motor vehicle collision
- Sacroiliitis from inflammatory arthritis
Finding the Real Source at Remix Medical
If months of sciatica treatment have not touched your pain, it may be that the joint responsible was never examined.