Percutaneous sacroiliac fixation (iFuse)

It is not assumed: before operating it has to be confirmed, with a specific examination and with diagnostic blocks, which serve to check whether the pain really comes from that joint. Without that confirmation there is no point in proposing fixation.

Because it hurts low in the back, an area that almost everyone — patients and doctors alike — puts down to the disc straight away. It is a cause of low back pain that often goes unnoticed, which is why it is worth thinking of when the disc does not explain what is happening.

Implants are placed across the joint through a small incision in the buttock, to stabilise it and promote its fusion. It is a short operation with a quick recovery.

That is one of the situations in which this joint comes onto the list: sacroiliac pain after lumbosacral fusions is a recognised indication. But the order does not change: first confirm the source, then decide.