A Common Cause of Low Back Pain- the Sacroiliac Joints

Sacroiliac Joint Pain and SI Syndrome

Sacroiliac joint pain, often labelled low back, pelvic, or even hip pain by the lay person is possibly the most common pain in the body.

Situated to either side of the base of the spine (see diagram) the sacroiliac joints (often shortened to SI joints) hold the pelvis together and provide a firm foundation for the spinal column. The joints are held together by thick ligaments that encapsulate the whole joint – so it is possible to sprain both the back and front portions, either separately or together.

At the beginning of the twentieth century the sacroiliac joints were thought to be the cause of most low back pain. Then with the discovery of ‘slipped’ discs the diagnosis of sacroiliac sprains became unfashionable. In the eighties and nineties the use of MRI revealed many people to have bulging discs yet no symptoms, as well as people with all the symptoms attributed to a bulging disc – but no evidence on MRI. Now the SI joints seem to be recognised once again.