Is anyone dealing with S I Joint Pain?

Hello @michelle103064, On August 19th I had the same injections in my right shoulder blade. Since then, I have had severe right arm pain. Being right handed, it has brought me to a halt. I need help buttoning my pants, bathing, shampooing my hair. If I knew these risk were involved I would have said no to the injections. I read before procedure was done that he would use an x-ray machine & guide the needle to indicated areas. Dr. sits down on the hospital bed & injection after injection was done. I've had many before & up until I read your comment I was not aware that a nerve could be hit. My Dr. retired that day & any additional treatment had to be done at a different location. I called the location that I chose and about 4 days later I was called in a prednisone packet. 7-Day treatment. I have taken that with no results. I went to my primary care on Friday, had an x-ray and a toradol shot. It is a little better today. I have been using the lidocaine 4% patches right around my shoulder area and sleeping on my back in the center of the bed with my arms out to the side and pillows propping them up. I certainly hope this goes away without taking another injection. Although, I'm not sure what I would do given your situation. If you do decide on an additional injection, please post your outcome.

@fibro4health
I truly wish you all the best on your journey to a healthy recovery. Thank you for your response. After thinking it through a little more I think I am going to try a chiropractor my friend told me about and continue physical therapy. I’m a little apprehensive after my last injection. The Dr. I saw for the initial visit did not do the injection. He sat in the corner. It took me off guard. I now wonder if it was a new Dr. who did my injection. He said twice redirecting. I’ll will update on my outcome.

@michelle103064, Thank you. I should mention that in the past I have done the aqua therapy which was a benefit to my pain. Nonetheless I exhausted the maximum payout for this type of therapy. I was not able to do the land therapy / physical therapy due to the extreme pain afterwards which would take me days to recover from. I would like to try a chiropractor however my osteo surgeon has suggested that I avoid chiropractors. If aqua therapy is available in your area you may find some benefit from that. I hope that you find some added relief along your journey.

michelle, I don't know if it will work for you but chiropractic care resolves my SI pain. It's usually on the right, but if I wait too long for an adjustment it begins to affect the left SI joint. I only see chiropractors who manipulate with thrust adjustments. None of the devices some use help. The adjustment is called a class five thrust adjustment by physical therapists who have to have special training, but I've never had a good adjustment from a PT. I think it's because they seldom use the technique.
Sometimes the manual adjustments are called palmer method.
I hope you can find a good chiropractor and get relief.

@fibro4health Thank you for the suggestion. There is aqua therapy near me. That may be a perfect fit. I’ll check into that.

@gently
My PT is pushing me too hard and I have flare ups after each session. I’d prefer some manual therapy or tens at the end. But, it’s strictly exercise. Which would be fine. But, it’s clear my body isn’t handling it. I’m hoping this chiropractor can help. Ive read he does manual as well. I hear he is really good. Thank you for the advice! I know ill
Still need PT. Wish the best for you.

Hey I’m sorry you’re struggling with this. I have had SI joint issues for quite a while myself. The SI joint isn’t really meant to articulate like your other joints but to flex a bit as you move. Sometimes nerves get trapped or pinched which is what causes the pain. I would be very careful about chiropractic care, I went once and was in pain for a week. I have had steroid injections too, some worked better than others but none “cured” it.
I do PT for it and it’s mostly focused on strengthening the surrounding muscles so the joint doesn’t slip as much and impinge on the nerves.
It’s been a very long road. I finally asked my pain management doctor if I could just have an ablation where they burn the nerves and hopefully provide relief that lasts from 6 months up to a couple of years. First was a diagnostic lidocaine injection to confirm that it’s the SI joint that is the root of the pain and not something else. Then I had the actual ablation done earlier this week. It can take a few weeks for the nerves to die off before I’ll know if it worked. They numbed my SI area with lidocaine and then placed 6 radio frequency needles along the joint . They tested to be sure they were only hitting sensory and not motor nerves, then they “heated” the needles to destroy the sensory nerves.
Fingers crossed! It’s too soon for me to tell if it worked but I’m hopeful. I really didn’t want an SI joint fusion, I’ve heard too many negative outcomes from that.
Be careful with the chiropractor! I do really hope it works for you but if it doesn’t maybe this might be the solution for you.

@michelle103064,
I've had those "personal trainer" PTs and I have had PTs that only massage, even one who massaged with one hand while he drank coffee and talked about God. I've never been to one who skipped the manual therapy altogether.
It's good you already found a chiropractor with a "good" reputation and manual skills. I have a lot of them. Some are better at the neck some at the spine, but all of them are good at the SI. The relief is immediate (for me), but I have to go in (more than) several times a month. The chiropractors that adjust and the give massage-like therapy are the very best, but rare. We had two here, they were very young brothers, but after one died, the other disappeared.
I'll be so surprised if you don't have excellent luck and feel better all over.

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@laurenthewise1 thank you for the advice! Good luck!

@gently
Thank you for your story. I so need relief!