Sacroiliac Fusion / SI Fusion

Sacroiliac fusion (SI fusion) is a modern procedure performed at Modern Spine. The sacroiliac joint is a joint found just below the low back but often can cause pain very similar to spinal issues. Patients often have back pain and leg pain and may have had significant difficulty identifying and treating the pain because their back MRI and x-rays don’t show the issue. Patients after spinal fusion are at risk for developing this condition. You don’t necessarily have to live with the symptoms. At Modern Spine, we have effective, minimally invasive, and outpatient options to potentially reduce SI joint pain and problems.

What is the SI joint?

The sacroiliac joint or SI joint are actually a pair of joints that are a part of the pelvis. It is the connection between your spine and your pelvis where your hips attach. Because of the location, patients may have low back pain and also hip and leg pain. We often see patients that have seen the hip doctor or their original spine surgeon that were not able locate the source of the patient’s pain, but it is relatively easy to diagnosis if you know the condition is the joint in between.

Treating SI Joint Pain

The treatment of SI joint pain is best done in our opinion working with physicial therapists, rehab, and pain doctors. It involves attempt to avoid surgery and helping the condition with less invasive care before considering surgery. This can entail:

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can help most spinal conditions. It is usually adviseable to attempt some form of PT for 6 weeks to 6 months before considering surgery.

Anti-Inflammatories

Medications known as NSAIDS are anti-inflammatory medications that can help many spinal conditions. Talk to your doctor about using medications like ibuprofen, Motrin, or a stronger prescription medication.

Chiropractic Care

Modern, multimodality chiropractic care may be helpful at reducing and alleviating SI pain.

Injections

Injections and similar treatments are commonly used to diagnose and also reduce pain from the SI Joint.

SI Fusion

Si Fusion at Modern Spine is in most cases a very short operation done in less than 30 minutes and can often be performed outpatient. Unlike spinal fusion, there is little to no loss in range of motion but can be very significant reduction in pain.

In most cases, screws or dowels are placed across the joint through very small incisions. If done properly, there is very little blood loss and very low risk of complications.

Recovery requires some activity restrictions for a short period of time and is usually easier than recovery from a lumbar fusion.

All of this is done in a minimally invasive fashion with no large open incisions just like most of the operations performed at Modern Spine.

Next Steps

If you have SI pain or think you might, we can help you with the diagnosis, coordinate care for non-surgical options, and also help you with the surgery if needed at Modern Spine.

Sacroiliac Fusion / SI Fusion