Your sacroiliac joint is the joint that connects the very bottom bone of your spine (sacrum) to your hips (iliac). This joint can go through a lot of wear and tear in your lifetime, causing painful arthritis or degenerative joint disease as you age.
A sacroiliac joint steroid injection helps relieve pain in your lower back or hip area. The injection uses a combination of steroids and anesthetic medicine to provide long-term relief. If your pain begins to return after the procedure, you can have a repeat injection. Many of our patients have found long-term pain relief with just a few of these injections each year. In fact, these injections keep many of our patients out of the operating room!
At The Spine Care Center, we use steroid injections to relieve back pain, from your neck to your sacrum. Our experts provide accurate diagnoses and proper injection placement to ensure you receive the pain relief you need to get back to the activities you love.
Your doctor will talk to you about how to prepare for your steroid injection. If you are receiving sedation, you will need to avoid drinking and eating for several hours before your procedure. You will also need a friend or family member to drive you home.
Your doctor may also ask you to avoid certain medications before your procedures. Always tell your doctor about any allergies you have and any medicines you take, including herbs and supplements.
At The Spine Care Center, we perform sacroiliac joint steroid injections in the comfort of our convenient, advanced-procedure suite located inside of our office in Manassas. Our physicians, who are board-certified in both anesthesiology and pain medicine, will work to ensure that you remain as relaxed and comfortable as possible during your injection. Once you are sedated, we will also apply a local anesthetic to your lower back to further reduce your pain during the injection.
Your doctor will also inject a special contrast dye into your lower back. This dye shows up on X-rays, allowing your doctor to identify the correct area for the injection. The doctor uses the live X-rays to guide the needle into the precise spot that’s suspected of causing your pain. They will then slowly inject the medicine into the targeted area.
After you receive the medicine, your doctor will apply a bandage to the injection site. The entire procedure takes only a few minutes.
We will need to observe you in our office for about half an hour after your injection. Your doctor will then clear you to go home and rest for the remainder of the day. If your injection site feels bruised or tender, you can apply an ice pack to the area for 20 minutes every hour.
The next day, you’ll be able to return to your normal activities. You may begin to feel the benefits of your injection within a day or two. In rare circumstances, you may have side effects like a flushed face or trouble sleeping as a result of the steroid. If you are concerned about side effects, please talk to your doctor.
Don’t live in pain for another day. Call The Spine Care Center in Manassas or request an appointment online today.