Got Lower Back Pain? New Joint Fusion Procedure May Help

Many patients who have lower back pain either live with it or try steroid injections, physical therapy, heat or medication management, none of which get to the root causes of the pain. There are a significant number of individuals with a condition called SI joint dysfunction. "SI" is the sacroiliac joints which link your pelvis and lower spine and they can cause a lot of lower back and hip pain.

Recently, Dr. Mustasim Rumi of Ascension Seton Williamson performed the first SI joint fusion on local patient Kim Zauzig.

Patients with SI joint dysfunction are often misdiagnosed. When the scan of a person’s back doesn’t match up with what the patient says, sometimes the patient is told the pain is “in their head” or that there’s no help for it.

Zauzig said she had tried everything, and that her pain made it hard to sleep and she couldn’t do a lot of walking, sitting or just everyday activities. Finally, her pain doctor referred her to Dr. Rumi.

Dr. Rumi recommended the SI joint fusion procedure, which stabilizes the joint with the insertion of three triangular titanium implants through a small incision near the buttocks, and the entire procedure takes about an hour.

After the procedure, Kim stayed in the hospital overnight but was already walking. Dr. Rumi told her to use a walker for six weeks, but she only needed one for a week and a half.

“The pain is gone,” Zauzig said. “Only the incision site hurt briefly. I can do anything now that the pain is gone – I can lift my grandbabies, and I can play and get on the ground with them. I’m so pleased with what I can do now, and wish I had known about this procedure a long time ago.”

For more information on the SI joint fusion procedure, contact Ascension Seton Williamson at (512) 324-4000.