Sacroiliac Joint Fusion Surgery?

Question

Have you had surgery on the sacroiliac joint? How was the outcome? How long did the pain last? Was it successful? How long until you were back to full motion? I was told up to 6 full months, is that true? Did you get temporary disability while going through physical therapy? Do they ever remove the screws and what happens if you are alergic to metals on the skin? Will this cause an interior infection?

The Nurosegeon has diagnosed this problem that's causing my pain as I and my physician mistook it for a herniated disk and have read up on some but am very scared about the fusion with screws in the hip.

I have tried pain meds, anti inflamatories, physical therapy and chyropractic care. None have worked and the pain is more direct on the left back hip bone. It is very intense when I walk, sit or push on it.

We are going to try these local injections first, 2 anesthetics and a placebo to see if this is specifically the problem and work from there but the surgeon believes with the Physical Labor type of work I do/have done for many years with my frame (5'10" 125lbs) could be a major cause of this problem along with some previous injury of falling off of a ladder directly on my lower tailbone, left hip. Hope this helps.

Answer 1

I'd be interested to know what types of treatments you tried...specificially if you tried physical therapy for either problem (SI vs. herniated disc).

I will say that as a physical therapist, I beleive very little in SI problems...it is a VERY stable joint bound by VERY strong ligaments that take a VERY significant amount of force to disrupt (unless you're a woman who had several births close together or have RA or ankylosing spondylitis). When is does displace, it only displaces by a few millimeters...hardly enough to cause signficant pain. I HAVE seen only a FEW TRUE SI problems over the last several years...they sustained the injury either...missing the stairs off the porch (landing 3 feet down), having 2 babies within a 19 month period and being dragged by a horse. All of these people did well with conservative therapy (PT). All my other patients who were told by their doctor that they had an SI problem were cured when we approached it as a disc problem using mechical diagnosis and treatment (aka the "McKenzie Method").

I would really try to avoid this surgery if possible...it's very taumatic and does not have good outcomes or can be cosidered to be lacking in good research of outcomes.

Answer 2

First, please go to this website and read up on your diagnosis: http://www.umm.edu/spinecenter/education/sacroiliac_joint_syndrome.html

Before your surgery is scheduled WRITE down any questions and bring them with you to your next appointment with the neurosurgeon. If he doesn't answer all your questions satisfactorily, seek another opinion. You should feel confident about your surgeon's abilities as well as know what to expect regarding your outcome.

To find the above web page, plus many more on your diagnosis, just type "sacroiliac joint fusion" in Google.