Specificity, Sensitivity, And Predictive Values of Clinical Tests of the Sacroiliac Joint: A Systematic Review of the Literature (Report‪)‬

Introduction The sacroiliac joint (SI joint) is a frequent source of low back and referred leg pain, being an indicated pain source in approximately 30% of patients with chronic low back pain. (1,2,3) Unfortunately as with many sources of low back pain, it can be difficult to determine which physical examination tests to use to identify the presence of sacroiliac joint pain and/or dysfunction. The anesthetic sacroiliac joint block (hereafter referred to as the SI joint block) has been identified as a controversial gold standard in the identification of pain originating from the SI joint.4 Unfortunately, this type of testing is not feasible for practitioners who lack training in joint injections and is not as cost-effective as a physical examination maneuver (or maneuvers).4 Many physical examination tests have been developed for eliciting SI joint pain, but it is desirable to know which tests have a higher probability of accurately ruling in or ruling out this joint as the source of pain for patients with this condition.