Section 1 of 6
Identify the pain question
Distinguish the joint from the surrounding complex.
Risks and benefits
Intended benefit
A local-anesthetic joint injection can help evaluate an intra-articular pain hypothesis. A therapeutic injection may offer short-term symptom relief in selected patients. Joint injection and treatment of the surrounding SI complex address different tissue sources.
Risks and tradeoffs
Discuss local pain, bleeding, infection and medication reactions. Extra-articular spread can reduce diagnostic specificity and affect nearby neural structures, including transient numbness or weakness.
Make the decision together
Clarify diagnostic versus therapeutic intent, competing hip and lumbar causes, and alternatives such as rehabilitation and medication. Compare post-injection pain and function with a meaningful baseline.