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How to inject sacroiliac joints with ultrasound guidance: a pictorial essay

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Abstract

Active sacroiliitis and sacroiliac joint dysfunction represent a common cause of low back pain in the population and are cause of patients’ quality of life reduction and disability worldwide. The use of musculoskeletal ultrasound allows to easily identify the sacroiliac joints and to study every pathological condition affecting its most dorsal part; moreover, musculoskeletal ultrasound allows to guide highly effective injective procedures aimed at improving patients’ symptoms and enhance their well-being. This paper aims to briefly explain for the musculoskeletal sonographer the anatomy and biomechanics of the sacroiliac joints, the correct ultrasound scanning method for their visualization and the most appropriate ultrasound guided injection technique to help dealing with the diagnostic and management of sacroiliac joint pain in the everyday scenario.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neurosciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Suhel G. Al Khayyat, Paolo Falsetti, Luca Cantarini & Bruno Frediani

  2. Advanced Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, SIUMB School of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Suhel G. Al Khayyat & Andrea Del Chiaro

  3. Advanced Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, SIUMB School of San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy

    Annarita Saponara

  4. SIUMB Advanced School for Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Post-Graduate Course, Santa Chiara University Hospital, Pisa, Italy

    Salvatore Massimo Stella

  5. San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Alberto Migliore

  6. Orthopaedic and Traumatology Operating Unit, San Luca Hospital, Lucca, Italy

    Andrea Del Chiaro

Authors
  1. Suhel G. Al Khayyat
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  2. Paolo Falsetti
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  3. Annarita Saponara
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  4. Salvatore Massimo Stella
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  5. Alberto Migliore
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  6. Andrea Del Chiaro
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  7. Luca Cantarini
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  8. Bruno Frediani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suhel G. Al Khayyat.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethics approval

Since this paper has been written only with didactical purpose the authors in the full text did not mention the ethical approval that, however, has been obtained for ultrasonographic studies: protocol n°22271 “Rhelabus”.

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Al Khayyat, S.G., Falsetti, P., Saponara, A. et al. How to inject sacroiliac joints with ultrasound guidance: a pictorial essay. J Ultrasound (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-024-00899-4

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