Sacroiliac joint syndrome

From the *Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, *Penn Spine Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Penn Medicine at Randor, Randor, Pennsylvania. Address correspondence: Curtis W. Slipman, MD, The Penn Spine Center, Ground Floor White Bldg., 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Email: slipman@mail.upenn.edu The sacroiliac joint has long been considered to be a potential source of low back and/or buttock pain with or without lower extremity symptoms. Until recently, supportive evidence for this disorder has been empirical as it was solely derived from information garnered from patients who obtained successful treatment for a constellation of signs, symptoms and examination findings believed to be indicative of sacroiliac joint syndrome. Due to this fallacious reasoning, successful treatment denotes a correct diagnosis; many of the concepts espoused during the past few decades have been predicated upon spurious data. With the advent of and systematic utilization of fluoroscopically guided diagnostic sacroiliac joint blockade specific epidemiologic, symptomatic, examination, diagnostic, and outcome data have been derived. This review describes current concepts and provides information that expounds and, in some instances, supplants prior held notions about this disorder.