The Importance of Sacroiliac (“SI”) Joint Injections After a Colorado Car Accident

What are sacroiliac (SI) joint injections? SI joint injections are performed to diagnose and treat severe lower back, pelvic, or hip pain caused by injury to the sacroiliac joint. SI joint injections provide strong medical evidence the injury is serious enough to require interventional care. When a patient requires SI joint injections, it reflects the persistence and severity of pain despite conservative treatment. This escalation of medical intervention significantly strengthens the value of the personal injury case by documenting that the injury caused loss of mobility, reduced quality of life, and ongoing disability.

The sacroiliac joint connects the spine to the pelvis and carries the weight load between the upper body and lower body. Because it bears so much force, it is vulnerable to trauma in motor-vehicle collisions, slip-and-fall accidents, or workplace injuries. When damaged, it can produce sharp or aching pain radiating into the hips, buttocks, groin, or down the legs — often mistaken for sciatica or lumbar disc injury. Many patients struggle for months without understanding that the SI joint is the true pain generator. That is why SI joint injections are so important: they identify the source of pain and help restore function.

When are SI Joint Injections Recommended After an Accident?

An SI joint injection involves inserting a needle into the sacroiliac joint under fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance and injecting local anesthetic, steroid medication or both. The anesthetic provides immediate temporary relief for diagnostic confirmation, and the steroid targets inflammation to provide longer-term improvement.

SI joint injections are appropriate when:

• A patient has persistent pain in the low back, pelvis, hip or groin that worsens with standing, walking, stairs, bending or twisting.
• Symptoms appear after trauma such as a rear-end impact, side-impact collision, fall, or heavy lifting injury.
• Conservative treatments including physical therapy, medication, rest, chiropractic care, or massage have failed to improve symptoms.
• Physical examination indicates SI joint dysfunction (for example, pain with compression or distraction testing).
• Diagnostic imaging does not fully explain the patient’s pain, but clinical findings strongly suggest SI joint involvement.

When physicians suspect SI joint injury but imaging is inconclusive or nonspecific, SI injections serve as an objective, diagnostic tool. The ability of the injection to provide relief confirms the diagnosis and guides future treatment.

Do SI Joint Injections Help Patients Participate in Physical Therapy?

Yes. SI joint dysfunction often causes intense, stabbing, or radiating pain that makes normal movement extremely difficult. Many patients cannot tolerate stretching, strengthening or mobility training because every motion triggers pelvic instability or muscle guarding. When the injection reduces inflammation and numbs pain, patients gain a critical window of relief.

This window allows them to:

• Re-engage in physical therapy exercises.
• Build hip and core stability.
• Restore gait and lower-body movement patterns.
• Improve range of motion and strength safely.

From a personal injury perspective, this progression demonstrates:

• The patient’s effort to recover.
• That pain impeded rehabilitation until interventional care was required.
• The treatment’s medical necessity and value.

Records showing improved therapy tolerance after SI injections are persuasive evidence that the individual is not exaggerating symptoms.

How Medical Records Support a Claim Involving SI Joint Injections

When properly documented, SI joint injections provide excellent objective medical evidence to support a personal injury claim. Effective medical records should include:

• A clear description of pain, onset and aggravating activities.
• History of conservative treatments and lack of adequate relief.
• Physical exam findings consistent with SI joint dysfunction (such as positive provocation tests).
• Imaging results, even if subtle, to rule out alternative sources.
• Provider rationale explaining why injections are necessary.
• Detailed procedure notes indicating medication, dosage, technique and response.
• Functional outcomes before and after injection.

These records establish that the injury is real, long-lasting and resistant to basic treatment — which substantially affects liability evaluation, negotiation leverage and non-economic damages.

Risks and Potential Side Effects of SI Joint Injections

SI joint injections are generally safe, but they involve a real procedure with real risks, which further underscores severity. Patients may experience temporary soreness, leg weakness or numbness, or increased pain as medication dissipates. Less common but more serious risks include infection, bleeding, allergic reaction, and nerve irritation. Steroid-related side effects may occur when repeat injections are necessary.

From a legal standpoint, undergoing a procedure with known risks demonstrates genuine pain rather than manufactured symptoms.

How SI Joint Injections Fit Into the Overall Treatment Plan

SI joint injections typically occur mid-path in the treatment hierarchy:

Initial injury and exam
→ Conservative care (PT, rest, medication, chiropractic, bracing)
→ Persistent pain
→ SI joint evaluation and diagnostic physical testing
→ SI joint injection
→ Re-engagement in physical therapy
→ Repeat injection or progression to radiofrequency ablation if necessary
→ Possible surgical consultation in extreme cases

This structured pathway proves medical necessity and defeats insurance arguments that the patient rushed into treatment or sought excessive care.

What Is the Expected Cost of SI Joint Injections?

The cost varies significantly by region, provider and whether one or both SI joints are treated. Common ranges fall around $1,000 to $2,500 per injection when including facility, physician and imaging fees. Repeat injections or follow-up diagnostic injections may be required. These costs become part of special damages and may be covered by:

• MedPay auto insurance
• Private health insurance
• Workers’ compensation
• Attorney lien or letter of protection

Significant medical costs increase case value and support economic damage calculation.

How SI Joint Injections Can Be Presented as Evidence of Serious Injury

Insurance companies often try to label musculoskeletal injuries as minor soft-tissue cases. SI joint injections are powerful rebuttal evidence because they prove:

• Pain was severe enough to require guided injection into a joint.
• Conservative care failed.
• A specialist believed the joint injury was real and significant.
• Daily function and mobility were meaningfully impaired.
• Future treatment needs are likely, supporting claims for permanent impairment.

If the pain returns after temporary relief, it strengthens the argument that the patient may need radiofrequency ablation or long-term management and may not fully recover.

Will an Expert Witness Be Required?

In more complex or disputed cases, an expert witness such as a pain management physician, orthopedic specialist, or physiatrist is often needed. The expert can explain:

• Mechanism of injury and how trauma destabilizes the SI joint.
• How physical findings match the patient’s symptoms.
• Why injection response supports the diagnosis.
• Why the condition is trauma-related rather than degenerative.
• Likelihood of future care and impact on work function and daily life.

This expert testimony helps resolve causation challenges and establishes credibility for ongoing symptoms.

What Is the Average Settlement Value in Cases Involving SI Joint Injections?

There is no universal average settlement amount specific to SI joint injections because value depends on severity, duration, treatment response, permanent impairment, wage loss and venue. However, cases involving SI joint injections in personal injury cases consistently settle for higher amounts compared to cases that resolve with conservative care alone, because:

• Interventional treatment elevates economic damages.
• It proves persistent, debilitating pain rather than temporary soreness.
• Repeat injections or progression to RFA create substantial future medical expense claims.
• Non-economic damages increase when chronic pain affects mobility and lifestyle.

When an SI joint injury leads to long-term impairment, settlement values often rise dramatically.

Why SI Joint Injections Matter in Personal Injury Cases

SI joint injuries can be among the most painful and functionally limiting spinal injuries, yet they are frequently misunderstood or overlooked. SI joint injections in personal injury cases demonstrate that the patient faced serious, persistent pain and needed advanced intervention to manage it. They improve physical ability, clarify diagnosis and dramatically strengthen settlement leverage by establishing injury severity and future medical need.

Contact Colorado’s Top Personal Injury Law Firm

If you required SI joint injections in personal injury cases, you are dealing with a significant injury that affects your mobility, comfort and daily life. Our firm understands spine-related injuries, advanced pain-management procedures and how to present this medical evidence effectively to insurance companies, mediators and juries. Contact our office today for help protecting your rights and securing full compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and long-term limitations.

Contact our office today to speak with an attorney who understands spine injuries, interventional pain management, and the medical evidence needed to obtain full and fair compensation for your injuries, medical bills, and long-term suffering. Our legal team is committed to fighting for those whose lives have been disrupted by injury and pain — and we are here to help you rebuild. Contact the top-rated personal injury law firm in Colorado to get a free consultation with one of our car accident attorneys. We serve Colorado including Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins.