Minimally Invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion, Radiofrequency Denervation, and Conservative Management for Sacroiliac Joint Pain: 6-Year Comparative Case Series.

BACKGROUND

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is an under-recognized condition. Substantial information supports the safety and effectiveness of SIJ fusion (SIJF). Long-term follow-up after SIJF has not been reported.

OBJECTIVE

To determine responses to conservative management (CM), SIJ denervation, and SIJF in patients with SIJ pain unresponsive to CM.

METHODS

Retrospective study with long-term (up to 6 yr) follow-up of 137 patients with SIJ pain seen in an outpatient neurosurgery clinic who received either CM (n = 63), sacroiliac denervation (n = 47), or minimally invasive SIJF (n = 27). At each routine clinic visit, patients completed pain scores and Oswestry Disability Index. Additional data were extracted from medical charts.

RESULTS

Patients treated with continued CM had no long-term improvement in pain (mean worsening of 1 point) or disability (mean Oswestry Disability Index worsened by 4-6 points), increased their use of opioids, and had poor long-term work status. SIJF patients had large improvements in SIJ pain (mean 6 points), large improvements in disability (mean 25 points), a decrease in opioid use, and good final work status. Sacroiliac denervation patients had intermediate responses (0-1 and 1-2 points, respectively).

CONCLUSION

In patients with SIJ pain unresponsive to CM, SIJF resulted in excellent long-term clinical responses, with low opioid use and better work status compared to other treatments.