Sacroiliac joint lies at the base of the spine between sacrum (pink) and the ilium (cream).
Sacroiliitis is a painful condition that affects joints which sit where the lower spine and pelvis meet. Sacroiliitis can cause pain in a buttock or lower back, and the pain might go down a leg. It can be hard to diagnose as it can be mistaken for other causes of low back pain. It's been linked to diseases that cause inflammatory arthritis of the spine. Mayoclinic described the following: symptoms, causes, risk factors, diagnosis and treatments.
The pain of sacroiliitis most often occurs in the buttocks and lower back. It also can affect the legs, groin and even the feet. These can make the pain worse: sleeping, sitting or standing for a long time; having more weight on one leg than the other; stair climbing; and taking large steps. But sometimes the pain can improve with even walking.
Osteo-arthritis can occur in sacroiliac joints from wear-and-tear. So can a type of arthritis that affects the spine aka ankylosing spondylitis. Accidents and pregnancy may also be responsible (not in my case!). A pelvic X-ray can show signs of damage to the sacroiliac joint. An MRI can show whether the damage is the result of ankylosing spondylitis.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers can be bought without a script, including ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. Or a health care provider might prescribe a stronger pain reliever. A physio therapist can teach range-of-motion and stretching exercises, to ease pain and to keep the low back and hips more flexible. Strengthening exercises help protect the joints.
I have been retired since the Covid lockdowns, so sacroiliitis hasn’t made any difference to my employment, income or distance from colleagues and students. But it has greatly slowed down the time I have taken to get into or out of bed; ended my driving for now; puts the cooking and cleaning responsibilities totally on the beloved spouse; and makes me walk like my grandmother did in her old age home. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers have greatly helped, but I feel like a junkie.
The pain of sacroiliitis most often occurs in the buttocks and lower back. It also can affect the legs, groin and even the feet. These can make the pain worse: sleeping, sitting or standing for a long time; having more weight on one leg than the other; stair climbing; and taking large steps. But sometimes the pain can improve with even walking.
Osteo-arthritis can occur in sacroiliac joints from wear-and-tear. So can a type of arthritis that affects the spine aka ankylosing spondylitis. Accidents and pregnancy may also be responsible (not in my case!). A pelvic X-ray can show signs of damage to the sacroiliac joint. An MRI can show whether the damage is the result of ankylosing spondylitis.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers can be bought without a script, including ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. Or a health care provider might prescribe a stronger pain reliever. A physio therapist can teach range-of-motion and stretching exercises, to ease pain and to keep the low back and hips more flexible. Strengthening exercises help protect the joints.
I have been retired since the Covid lockdowns, so sacroiliitis hasn’t made any difference to my employment, income or distance from colleagues and students. But it has greatly slowed down the time I have taken to get into or out of bed; ended my driving for now; puts the cooking and cleaning responsibilities totally on the beloved spouse; and makes me walk like my grandmother did in her old age home. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers have greatly helped, but I feel like a junkie.
39 comments:
Really sorry to learn this Hels, but thank goodness you have a willing husband who is able and happy to help.
Ouch! Time and rest should help, but keep taking the tablets, as they will help you to relax.
I hope you can get as much relief as possible from this awful sounding affliction. From the description of the location it is clearly an important part of the architecture of the human body.
S.I joint dysfunction is the commonest cause of low back pain in adult age group. In overweight women there are increased chances of sacroiliac joint dysfunction as their weight increases.
Thanks Rosemary. Even for women who are fairly sophisticated in medicine, there are times when we really need our spouses and doctor friends.
jabblog
I was embarrassed about lying around and groaning with pain. I felt like a total woos. And I was embarrassed about pain killing tablets... our generation thought that reliance on paint killers was something our mothers did.
Now I don't mind asking for tablets :)
I have that at my late 40s. That is a bad news to me!
Rachel
Every activity is centered there: sitting, standing up from a chair, getting in and out of the bath, putting on a bra, even rolling over in bed.
Several years ago I carried a long skinny plastic bag of thick phone books and magazines to the trash out back. They were heavy and beginning to swing like a pendulum so I started carrying this load way out from my body. I got it to the garbage can and heaved it in. The next day, something was wrong on the opposite side of my body....down in my lower buttock. For ELEVEN MONTHS it was a journey. A car seat that was a bucket style, I couldn't endure. Next it started waking me up in the early hours. By about six I mentioned it to the doctor, and he prescribed a low arthritis dose. Overnight I was better but I thought, this would be for life, wouldn't it? Didn't like the sound of it. I was only about 55. Next it began to ache every morning for about an hour. The final symptom was it was waking me up in the night. I went back to the doctor and he said maybe an MRI but they are so expensive. We had the best insurance available. This was when the S I joint was discovered. It had spread open. I was sent to the head of the orthopedic dept of the best hospital in town. From there I was sent to an excellent physical therapy lady, by prescription only. Here was my cure: A ball like a volleyball held between the knees, lying down. Squeeze the knees together hard. I think maybe 60 reps. Every few days. In about a week I was cured! Maybe this would help if yours has spread apart. Good luck!
I also have never heard of this condition, it sounds painful, I am sorry you have this, getting older sucks
Joe
My specialist physician has said to lose weight, which makes perfect sense but it isn't written of the box of tablets and I didn't see it in the lay literature.
It is very bad news, yes. If you are in Melbourne, join us for a Sunday lunch and we can compare notes.
Margaret
Thank you. I think we all have views of ourselves that develop over the decades - I am a vigorous sporting perso n; I am a devoutly religious parent: I am very very scholarly.. then it all changes.
Anon
Were you citing a medical journal article and will you share it?
I'm thankful I don't have this problem, any lower back pain I get is muscular and easily fixed by resting with a hot water bottle to ease the spasm and pain. I have minimal arthritis in several joints, neck, hands, lower back, but no pain from that and my knees are still good too. I get down to the floor and up agian every day when I scoop out the cat litter tray. I walk slower than I used to and not as far, but I think that's because I'm just out of practise and really also have no need to be hurrying anywhere these days. If I got out and walked more instead of sitting by the computer, I'd probably get back up to speed, though I'd not be running at all.
When in pain, apply ice.
Next, try Omega 3 (950); it might surprise you with some help, who knows.
I'm so sorry, dear Helen! But I hope that thanks to the Lord and your husband, you know how to relieve the pain.
River
As you say, your walking has slowed and your arthritis has increased, but hopefully you haven't seen your contribution to the world as ending.
So even after retirement, it is important for us to continue looking after grandchildren, working for our favourite charities, travelling and writing up the experiences, collecting and curating family photos into albums. I too love my computer, but I suspect it is hiding a serious gap in my efforts.
DUTA
one of the great benefits of reading blog posts in general, and from other countries in particular, is that you find suggestions that haven't been mentioned before. Many thanks.... I will examine the Omega 3 option in the literature.
Irina
I showed your comment to my beloved, and he agreed with you. But he put the husband first and the Lord second :)
The first of a new series of Only Connect started this week. One of the questions was, "What connects sacrum, lumbar etc". A lady instantly answered "vertebrae". Sadly, she was a back sufferer too.
bazza
Welcome back to the human race :)
The competitor was not just a clever woman, but a medically experienced one too! I must admit that had I not found where my S.I was a month ago, I wouldn't have been able to answer either.
Nowadays we spend quite a lot of funerals and minyanim. I am not talking about our grandparents.... I am talking about people who were in my year at school, or in Joe's year at university. Lovely young teens who are now 76 and having heart attacks. Grim :(
Jo-Anne ,
I contracted a horrible flu, one week after the S.I malfunction started. Normally who cares about something as ordinary as the flu? But every sneeze increases the internal blood pressure and uses muscles that I didn't know If had. S.I malfunction and flu together = nightmare :(
Do you think I deserve the Nobel Prize for Medicine, for discovering the connection?
Back to me who lifted the heavy sack and carried it way out to the side. Dr. Sasso explained that the sacroiliac joint is like a wishbone. What I did was to spread it open and it needed to be pushed back to the original position. This was where those exercises with the ball came into play. I spent nearly a year starting with slight pain and it grew slowly worse to the point of keeping me awake at night. So glad my internist finally ordered the MRI, which my insurance covered completely. That was the only test that showed the spread. It really pays to put some thought into the situation and try to pin down when the problem started, think of all the clues, that's how you can help your doctor get you on the road to recovery. And if you don't get satisfaction, go somewhere else. Keep trying.
Anon
Many thanks. The MRI is the definitive step, isn't it? Even so, a year of pain would have been unbearable.
This is really interesting. I have some occasional lower back pain that I thought was sciatica, but now I'm not sure it's that. I'll know more in a couple of weeks when my drs appointment is. I will mention this when I go.
Its interesting that the sacro iliac joint is actually a very stable joint but it can become inflamed and is very painful when it does . It can also becme unstable during pregnancy!
The facet joints at the sides of the spine can also give this pain and often it is hard to differentiate the two .
Anti-inflammatories are a god send but cant be used for long as they have risks with long term use and if you are asthmatic or have high blood pressure they can interfere with how medications work.One thing is for certain , you have to keep moving in whatever way is necessary because for every day of "rest" it takes 4 days of normal activity to get back what you lose in muscle strength in an older person . This is where Hydrotherapy or swimming can be so useful because it really helps with pain during exercise due to buoyancy and the loss of weight bearing in water .
I always advise my clients to use paracetamol regularly in order to keep moving because to lose muscle means increased falls risk which is the big ticket disaster as we age . Good luck Helen but sure as eggs you will get better , just don't let that pain get you down .
Erika
many people have said the same thing... that they didn't know what the source of the back pain was because it moved around a lot. It sometimes takes a dedicated search to find out what is happening, but it all helps in the long run. Good luck.
mem
pregnancy? hehe.. my youngest son is 50 and although I was delighted to be pregnant at the time, that era has DEFINITELY passed :) Now I am waiting for my oldest two grandchildren graduate uni, marry and have babies.
Hydrotherapy is very appealing to people who loved swimming in their younger years. Water is warm, supportive, safe and totally immersive, unlike walking down the street. Once I am brave enough to get upright and independent, I will certainly become active gently and safely. Thank you.
I do hope you improve. Getting old is such a drag but it does have its compensation as well. I for one don't read about medical issues so am a complete ignoramus on what to do. Sometimes advice seems like a potpourri you just dip in and find the right answer.
Thelma
I read lay literature, not so I can out-dazzle the specialists but in order to look for signs and symptoms, and to ask intelligent questions. Even when I haven't got a clue, it all helps.
I almost have to be ashamed that I don't have any bones or arthritis or other illnesses - the only thing is chronic lung disease, but other than that I don't have anything. Hopefully it stays that way.
Boa tarde e uma excelente quinta-feira minha querida amiga. Rita Lee faleceu o ano passado com câncer. Deixou um legado e será bem representada por seus filhos. Obrigado pela visita e comentário.
Gattina
be very grateful, and not even slightly ashamed, that you never feel sacroiliac joint pain. Having chronic lung disease is horrible in its own right :(
Hopefully Mrs Old Age treats us all gently.
Luiz
saying goodbye is always sad... so thank goodness the project became one of the legacies of the Olympics. and is a tribute to Rita Lee
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Ud
thank you for the advice, but the post was about sacroiliac joint pain - not neck, feet or any other part of the body. What would you recommend for sacroiliac joint pain?
Great article! It's so important to focus on effective solutions for back pain. I noticed you mentioned the importance of lumbar support, which reminded me of the benefits of using Lumbar traction devices for relief. These devices can be a game-changer for those dealing with chronic back pain. Thanks for sharing this valuable information!
UD
many thanks. Sacroiliac joint pain has been both horrible to cope with, and a learning experience about older age.
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