Puncture technologies in the treatment of pain syndrome caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction

Abstract

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction is a cause of low back pain in 10–30% of cases. In 1993, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defined the following set of diagnostic criteria necessary to diagnose SIJ dysfunction: 1) the presence of pain in the areas characteristic of SIJ lesions, with special attention to pain in the Fortin area projection, with possible different types of radiation; 2) positive pain provocation tests for a SIJ lesion; 3) reduced pain after intra-articular anesthetic injection; 4) the lack of a specific nature of the lesion (fracture, inflammation, tumor, etc.). Injection of 0.5–2.5 ml of solution of an anesthetic (bupivacaine, lidocaine) and 20–40 mg of triamcinolone or 5 mg of betamethasone (1 ml) into the SIJ area is used as interventional technologies. More prolonged analgesia involves radiofrequency denervation (RFD) of the SIJ, in which needles with electrodes are placed in the projection of the nerves that innervate the SIJ, and their local thermal destruction is performed. The effectiveness of RFD of SIJ requires further investigation.