Pain above the left buttock and below the waist

I have pain above my left buttock and below my waist, and I cannot rule out the possibility of sacroiliitis. Sacroiliitis is a relatively common disease, and its incidence is particularly high among office white-collar workers. This is because maintaining a sitting posture for a long time will inevitably put a certain burden on the sacroiliac joints. Over time, it will naturally lead to the occurrence of sacroiliitis. So, what are the symptoms of sacroiliitis? A detailed introduction will be given below!

Lumbar spine disease

When the lumbar spine is affected, most symptoms are limited movement of the lower back and waist. Lumbar flexion, extension, lateral bending and rotation may all be limited. Physical examination may reveal tenderness of the lumbar spinal processes and paralumbar muscle spasm; in the later stages, lumbar muscle atrophy may occur.

Thoracic spine disease

When the thoracic spine is affected, symptoms include back pain, anterior chest pain, and lateral chest pain, and the most common is kyphosis deformity. If the costovertebral joints, manubrium-sternosal joints, sternoclavicular joints and intercostal cartilage joints are affected, the chest pain will be band-like, the chest expansion will be limited, and the chest pain will be aggravated when inhaling, coughing or sneezing. In severe cases, the chest cavity remains in the exhalation state, and the chest expansion is reduced by more than 50% compared with normal people, so it can only be assisted by abdominal breathing. Due to the reduction in the capacity of the chest and abdominal cavity, heart, lung and digestive functions are impaired.

Cervical spine disease

A small number of patients first present with cervical spondylitis, with pain in the cervical spine that radiates along the neck to the head and arms. The neck muscles initially spasm and then atrophy, and the disease may progress to kyphosis of the cervical and thoracic spine. The movement of the head is significantly limited, and it is often fixed in a flexed position and cannot be tilted upward, bent sideways or rotated. In severe cases, patients can only see a small piece of ground in front of their toes and cannot lift their heads to look straight ahead.

Peripheral joint disease

About half of AS patients have transient acute peripheral arthritis, and about 25% have permanent peripheral joint damage. It usually occurs in large joints and more often in the lower limbs than in the upper limbs. When the shoulder joint is affected, joint movement is limited, the pain is more obvious, and activities such as combing the hair and raising the hands are restricted. When the knee joint is invaded, the joint will bend compensatorily, making daily life such as walking and sitting more difficult. It rarely affects the elbow, wrist and foot joints.

In addition, the pubic symphysis may also be affected, and the upper edge of the pelvis, ischial tuberosity, greater trochanter of the femur and heel may have symptoms of osteitis, which manifests as local soft tissue swelling and pain in the early stage and bone enlargement in the late stage. Generally, peripheral arthritis may occur before or after spondylitis. The local symptoms are difficult to distinguish from rheumatoid arthritis, but fewer people have residual deformities.