Diagnostics
Current Diagnostic Practices for Sacroiliac Joint Pain Among Interventional Pain Physicians: Results of an Exploratory Practice Survey
By Jamal J. Hasoon, Jenna Chuan, Grant H. Chen and 6 others.
Abstract
Background
Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain contributes to chronic axial low back pain, but diagnosis remains challenging because no single historical feature, physical examination maneuver, imaging finding, or injection response is universally accepted as definitive. Although guidelines recommend multimodal assessment, less is known about how interventional pain physicians diagnose SI joint pain in real-world practice.
Objective
We aim to describe self-reported diagnostic practices for suspected SI joint-mediated pain among interventional pain physicians. Study Design: Exploratory cross-sectional survey.
Methods
An anonymous, voluntary SurveyMonkey questionnaire was distributed between 1 January 2026, and 20 June 2026, to physicians practicing interventional pain medicine through academic institutional email distribution, professional contacts, and social media platforms. The present analysis focused on survey items related to physician specialty, practice setting, diagnostic approach, discordance between history and physical examination, use of diagnostic injections, estimated prevalence of SI joint pain, and management when SI joint and lumbar facet pain coexist.