Looking Clinics That Offer Sacroiliac Joint Fusion in Dallas TX?
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Sacroiliac joint pain is often treated by physical therapy, pain medication, or injection treatments. Doctors don’t usually recommend surgery for this disorder but if the pain persists, minimally invasive surgery is preferred. If you’re looking for sacroiliac joint fusion in Dallas TX, we at Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas are here to help you.
What is Sacroiliac Joint Pain?
That pain you feel in your lower back when you stand up might mean your sacroiliac joint is acting up. You have a couple of them located on both sides of your spine. When you are standing or walking while shifting your weight to the legs, your sacroiliac joints bear your upper body’s load. That’s how important they are.
According to patients, the pain can be sharp or dull. It usually begins at the sacroiliac joint and can move to the buttocks, groin, upper back, or thighs. Standing up may sometimes trigger the pain and it’s usually felt on just one side of the lower back. The pain may bother you in the morning more often but it usually gets better later in the day. Sacroiliac joint problems account for 15 to 30 percent of pains with these symptoms.
What Causes Sacroiliac Joint Pain?
The pain is caused by an inflamed sacroiliac joint and it could happen because of several reasons. The joint can be hurt because of a sports injury or a fall. Activities that give the sacroiliac joint regular pounding can also cause this problem like jogging or brisk walking, for example.
If you are taking uneven strides while you are walking due to one of the legs being slightly longer than the other, it can also damage the joint. Damage on the ligaments holding the joint together can make it move abnormally eventually leading to chronic pain.
Other causes of sacroiliac joint pain are arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, old age, and pregnancy.
What are the Treatments Available?
The first step to reducing sacroiliac joint pain is to stop any activity that’s causing it. If it doesn’t work, your doctor may recommend the following:
Pain relievers. Although these may provide only temporary relief from the pain, they can be enough to get you through the day.
Physical therapy. Exercises designed to improve your strength and flexibility.
Injection Treatments. Your doctor may give you cortisone shots to reduce joint inflammation.
Surgery. This is often recommended as the last resort. Let’s discuss the procedure in more detail.
What Is Sacroiliac Joint Fusion?
Sacroiliac joint fusion surgery is often the last option for sacroiliac joint problems. It’s only recommended when all the nonsurgical treatments available failed to alleviate the pain and it persists for weeks or months and has become unbearable for patients to go with their daily lives. Before advising surgery, most back pain specialists and doctors recommend a battery or nonsurgical methods and trials.
A minimally invasive surgical procedure is most commonly recommended for sacroiliac joint fusion which is done via an incision in the patient’s buttock. The open method type of surgery is rarely done because of high complication rates and long healing process.
Sacroiliac Joint Fusion Procedure
In recent years, advanced implant systems and methods have been developed that allow the joint fusion surgery to be as minimally invasive as possible. The fusion procedure is proven to reduce excessive movement which helps minimize lower back and pelvic pain. The minimally invasive system also requires shorter recovery time and cause fewer complications compared to open fusion surgery.
The patient is administered with general anesthesia while lying prone or faces down. An incision, around 2 to 3 centimeters, is made in one side of the buttock dissecting the gluteal muscles.
This small incision is enough for the whole surgical procedure and is where the implant instruments go through and fixed by using sacroiliac joint fusion screws. Once the implants have been put into place, a saline solution is used to irrigate the incision site. This is done to remove debris in and around the wound before closing it up. Standard sutures are then used to close the incision in layers.
Duration of the Procedure
A minimally invasive surgical procedure for sacroiliac joint fusion often lasts for an hour. The shorter time also reduces complication risks. During the entire procedure, a fluoroscopic imaging system is used in properly implanting the instruments and also preparing the sacroiliac joint. Minimally invasive procedures also improve pain reduction and disability scores after surgery better than open surgery methods.
A combination of several factors determines the rehabilitation of the patient following the sacroiliac joint surgery which includes physical therapists’ or surgeon’s rehabilitation preferences, the symptoms’ severity before the surgery, and the systems used in fusing the joints (bone grafting, instrumentation, etc.). After the surgery and during the healing period, the bones begin and continue to fuse so pain along with other symptoms of sacroiliac joint problems is expected. This, however, should start to lessen after just a few weeks. Around 6 months is typically required to fully recover after the sacroiliac joint fusion surgery.
The final sacroiliac joint fusion surgery cost can vary between clinics and physicians doing the procedure.
Contact Us
The Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas offers sacroiliac joint fusion in Dallas TX. The clinic is owned and managed by Dr. Scott Kutz, MD, and expert on the treatment and diagnosis of spinal disorders such as spinal tumors, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, herniated discs. For more details, please call us at (972) 244-3491 to book an appointment or to learn more about the services we offer.
