{
  "abstract": "Background Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is a frequent cause of chronic low back pain, but the comparative effectiveness of available interventional treatments remains unclear.Objective We explored the therapeutic effects of interventional treatments on SIJ using a network meta-analysis.Evidence review A comprehensive systematic search of multiple databases was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials comparing conventional, cooled, and pulsed radiofrequency (RF) ablation; intra-articular steroid injections under different imaging guidance techniques; prolotherapy; platelet-rich plasma; sham procedures; and conservative management.Methods Primary outcomes were pain intensity and Oswestry Disability Index at 1, 3, and 6 months. Random-effects network meta-analysis estimated mean differences with 95% CIs, and P scores were used to rank treatments.Results 18 trials involving 1075 patients were included. RF-based interventions consistently outperformed steroid injections, sham, and conservative care. For pain relief, cooled RF ranked highest at 1 month, conventional RF at 3 months, and pulsed RF at 6 months, demonstrating significant superiority over most comparator treatments. For disability outcomes, pulsed RF provided the greatest improvement at 1 and 3 months, whereas CT-guided intra-articular steroid injection ranked highest at 6 months. However, the certainty of evidence was generally low to very low due to imprecision and study limitations.Conclusions These findings support the overall effectiveness of RF techniques for SIJ pain while highlighting important evidence gaps that warrant further high-quality trials with longer follow-up.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Keimyung University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Ji-Hoon Park"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Jae Ni Jang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Soyoon Park"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Young-Soon Choi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Rakib Miah"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Sukhee Park"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Interventional treatments for sacroiliac joint pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis",
  "uid": "42499e0d-5c6c-5259-9312-5ff9a7fa9955"
}