Learn
Can You Have SI Joint Fusion on Both Sides at the Same Time?
Bilateral SI Joint Fusion
It’s not often that people have sacroiliac joint (SI joint) dysfunction on both sides, often called bilateral SI joint dysfunction. The pain in the lower back, hip, groin, or leg is usually isolated to one side the other (called unilateral). Bilateral SI joint symptoms have been reported ranging from 8-35%.1
If your doctor determines that both left and right SI joints (called bilateral) are causing you pain and recommends SI joint fusion (after conservative therapies have failed), your doctor may recommend one of these scenarios:
- Minimally invasive SI joint fusion surgery on one side (typically the more symptomatic side), followed by SI joint fusion on the other side, if still necessary, a couple months later, depending on your recovery time.
- Minimally invasive SI joint fusion surgery on both sides during the same surgical procedure.
The first scenario -- two separate procedures -- is the more likely recommendation when you have bilateral SI joint pain and diagnosis, simply because it gives you time to recuperate. However, the second scenario is an option, depending on your individual health and circumstances. You should confirm with your surgeon and your insurance carrier whether there is any financial impact to you for receiving one surgery, compared with two separate procedures.
You might wonder if having the SI joint procedure on one side will help ease the pain on the other side. No clinical studies have addressed this question. There is anecdotal information that sometimes a unilateral procedure will lead to decreased symptoms on the opposite side, but there is also anecdotal information that sometimes unilateral treatment does not improve symptoms on the contralateral side.
Bilateral iFuse Success Stories
Claire’s Bilateral SI joint Pain
In December 2012, I was doing a high intensity DVD exercise routine in my living room. Suddenly I felt complete agony. It felt like I’d been kicked, or someone had thrown something at me. Every time I tried to move, I was in enormous pain, so I lay still on the floor and waited for it to pass. I laid there for several hours before I was eventually able to haul myself onto the couch. I went to my GP, who referred me to a specialist, and I was offered an MRI scan which showed I had three slipped discs in my lower back. One of the discs had impinged on a nerve. That was the worst pain. It felt like sciatica, as if ice cold water was running down my left leg.
Additional Resource for Providers
Bilateral SI joint fusion: Simultaneous Biplanar Fluoroscopy
