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Interventional treatments for low back pain due to sacroiliac joint dysfunction: a systematic review of the literature

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Abstract

Purpose

This systematic review aimed to report the current evidence in the literature about the efficacy of interventional treatments in the management of low back pain (LBP) due to sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

Methods

A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and CENTRAL bibliographic databases were searched. The search was performed from October to December 2021, and articles from the inception of the database to December 2021 were searched.

Results

Fourteen studies were included for qualitative synthesis. Five studies used the traditional radiofrequency approach (tRF), five studies used cooled radiofrequency approach (cRF), one study used botulinum toxin (BT), two studies used steroid injection, triamcinolone (TA) and local anesthetics injections, and one study used pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) denervation. Two studies used sham as a comparator.

Conclusions

Cooled radiofrequency seems to be the most effective treatment in improving pain and functionality, while intra-articular injections are helpful only as diagnostic tools. However, due to the lack of high-quality studies, it was not possible to draw significant conclusions.

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Funding

This research received no external funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128, Rome, Italy

    Sergio De Salvatore, Fabrizio Russo, Gianluca Vadalà, Giuseppe Francesco Papalia, Luca Ambrosio, Rocco Papalia & Vincenzo Denaro

  2. Research Unit of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy

    Fabrizio Russo, Gianluca Vadalà, Giuseppe Francesco Papalia, Luca Ambrosio, Rocco Papalia & Vincenzo Denaro

  3. Department of Orthopedics, Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù, 00165, Palidoro, Rome, Italy

    Sergio De Salvatore

  4. Unit of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Management, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio Medico University and Teaching Hospital University and Teaching Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Giuseppe Pascarella, Alessandro Ruggiero, Sabrina Migliorelli & Massiliano Carassiti

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  1. Sergio De Salvatore
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Correspondence to Fabrizio Russo.

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De Salvatore, S., Russo, F., Vadalà, G. et al. Interventional treatments for low back pain due to sacroiliac joint dysfunction: a systematic review of the literature. Eur Spine J 33, 1407–1423 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-024-08130-y

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