4 Signs Your Back Pain Might Be Related to Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

The roads to lower back pain are many: From muscle spasms to nerve compression issues like sciatica, the lower back is a problematic area for millions of people. And “millions” is no exaggeration, as one research paper reports that 74 million people in the United States had lower back pain within the last three months, and an estimated 10% of our population lives with chronic back pain.

As a practice that specializes in resolving lower back pain issues, neurosurgeon Dr. Ali H. Mesiwala and our team understand the many issues that can lead to lower back pain. What our extensive experience has shown us is that sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction accounts for more than its fair share. This condition is found in about 25% of adults with chronic lower back pain. This is what we consider atypical back pain. While there is some overlap between the lumbar spine degeneration and SI joint degeneration, it takes a skilled and experienced doctor to diagnose it. 

Given this high prevalence, we think it’s worthwhile to review potential signs of SI joint dysfunction and how we can help.

Your hard-working sacroiliac joints 

All of your joints work hard to allow you to move through the world, but your SI joints have a particularly tough workload. The reason they’re called sacroiliac is because these joints connect the iliac crests of your hip bones to your sacrum, a triangle-shaped bone that sits between the bottom of your lumbar spine and your coccyx (tailbone).

In effect, these joints connect your upper body to your lower body, and they act as transfer stations between the two halves of your body, providing support, cushioning, and shock absorption.

Your SI joints shouldn’t move all that much, but just enough to allow for the aforementioned shock absorption, and they also move to accommodate certain movements, like bending over.

When you have SI joint dysfunction, one of two issues can occur:

1. Your SI joints are loose and allow too much movement (hypermobility)
2. Your SI joints are too stiff and don’t allow any movement at all

These two opposite problems are tied to a range of symptoms.

Recognizing SI joint dysfunction

Now let’s dive into some of the more common characteristics of SI joint dysfunction, which include pain, leg symptoms, stiffness, and instability.

1. Pain

Whether your SI joint is hypermobile or too stiff, pain is typically one of the first symptoms that grab your attention. You might feel a deep ache on one side of your lower back. The pain can often fan out to your hips, buttocks, and groin, again typically on one side, though it can affect both.

The pain often flares with activity or when you’re in one position for a long period.

2. Symptoms in your lower leg

SI joint dysfunction can lead to sciatica-like symptoms, which is to say pain, numbness, and tingling that stretch down into one side of your buttocks and into your leg.

3. Stiffness

If your SI joints are too tight and don’t allow any movement, you may feel stiffness in your lower back and in your hips.

4. Instability

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if your SI joints are too mobile, you may feel unstable on your feet and like your pelvis is going to buckle.

There are several steps in diagnosing SI joint dysfunction which include: patient history and lifestyle evaluation, physical and neurological exam including diagnostic maneuvers, review of imaging, and lastly a diagnostic injection under x-ray guidance. 

Solutions for SI joint dysfunction

If any of the symptoms we outline above are ringing a bell with you, we want you to come in and sit down with Dr. Mesiwala for an evaluation. After reviewing your symptoms, we use advanced imaging to take a look at the structures in your back to get a clearer picture of what’s going on. 

If all signs point toward SI joint dysfunction, we can discuss next steps. Dr. Mesiwala is a leading neurosurgeon who excels in minimally invasive SI joint stabilization procedures that will have you moving more comfortably and confidently again. The procedure takes approximately 15-20 minutes in the outpatient setting. Patients are able to home within a couple of hours and are able to walk the same day with the use of a brace or walker. 

He has been treating patients with SI Joint degeneration, with a minimally invasive and outpatient procedure, since 2010. He has performed thousands of procedures in patients that have this atypical low back pain diagnosis. Additionally he is on the forefront of research and development in the field having generated his very own implant based on his surgical experience and biomedical engineering background. 

He has conducted research on the sacroiliac joint, along with appropriate treatment methods. Lastly he is faculty for surgeons around the world on training them with the latest procedure techniques. 

To figure out what’s going on in your lower back, please contact one of our offices in Newport Beach, Marina del Rey, or Rancho Cucamonga, California, to set up a consultation.