Anyone dealt with sacroiliac joint dysfunction?

I am currently dealing with very severe pain and muscle spasms that seem to be the result of issues with my sacroiliac joint. My GP suggested that I go to see a physiatrist as soon as possible.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has dealt with this, has a practitioner they would recommend for treatment, and what the outcome was. I am honestly terrified at the moment about how debilitating this is, walking for any length of time is pretty much impossible and the muscle spasms involved are quite literally up there with labor pain.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

I don't have the same problem that you do, but I have an excellent physiatrist. Dr. Thomas Cava, at PC Rehab in West Orange. He's really good--knowledgeable, patient, kind. The only trouble is that you wait--and wait and wait and wait in the office to see him. Sometimes as long as a couple of hours, but people put up with that because he's that good.

Following - I've suspected for a while that this is the cause of my very specific lower back pain, but saw one orthopedist (out of this area) who dismissed it. I'm interested in any recommendations for practitioners too.

I don't live in the MAPSO area any more. How do you go about finding a physiatrist? I tried searching with this term on the United Healthcare website and it comes up with nothing. Thanks.

I had the same problem with my insurance, it doesn't even have this as an option on the website pull down. If you try "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation" it seems to catch the right people.

As a start, I am going to see a sports massage therapist today who helped me years ago with a significant issue that no doctor or physical therapist could helpfully address for 6 months (and he fixed in about 3-4 sessions). I also made an appointment with a physiatrist NYC who seems to specifically deal with this problem. If that goes well, I will be happy to recommend to anyone interested.

Dr. Shumko at St. Barnabus Ambulatory Care Center is good physiatrist. I also highly recommend Dr. Ramundo on Millburn Ave. He's a pain management specialist who can do cortisone injections, nerve blocks and radio frequency nerve ablation for SJD. Only down side is that he only takes Cigna. I'm sorry that you're suffering.

narabear said:
I had the same problem with my insurance, it doesn't even have this as an option on the website pull down. If you try "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation" it seems to catch the right people.
As a start, I am going to see a sports massage therapist today who helped me years ago with a significant issue that no doctor or physical therapist could helpfully address for 6 months (and he fixed in about 3-4 sessions). I also made an appointment with a physiatrist NYC who seems to specifically deal with this problem. If that goes well, I will be happy to recommend to anyone interested.

THANK YOU! That phrase worked. There are several doctors to choose from within 5 miles of my house! I spoke to the nurse at one of them yesterday who asked me lots of questions about my complaints. I learned so much from her just with that one conversation (things that countless doctors before just dismissed as me making up stories). I appreciate everything and everyone on this thread!