The sacroiliac dysfunction and pain is associated with history of lower extremity sport related injuries

Sajjad Abdollahi; Rahman Sheikhhoseini; Mohammad Rahimi; Wendy E Huddleston

doi:10.1186/s13102-023-00648-w

The sacroiliac dysfunction and pain is associated with history of lower extremity sport related injuries

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2023 Mar 20;15(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13102-023-00648-w.

Authors

Sajjad Abdollahi¹, Rahman Sheikhhoseini², Mohammad Rahimi³, Wendy E Huddleston⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Corrective Exercise & Sport Injury, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Western Azadi Sport Complex Boulevard, Hakim Highway, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Corrective Exercise & Sport Injury, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Western Azadi Sport Complex Boulevard, Hakim Highway, Tehran, Iran. Rahman.pt82@gmail.com.
³ Department of Corrective Exercise & Sport Injuries, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Western Azadi Sport Complex Boulevard, Hakim Highway, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction and pain with overuse and acute lower limb and pelvic girdle injuries of Iranian basketball players.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, basketball-related injury data were collected during 2019-2020 from 204 basketball players of the Iranian league using the online Information Retrospective Injury Questionnaire. A researcher then performed ten clinical tests to assess SIJ dysfunction and pain (five tests for dysfunction and five tests for pain). Data analysis was performed by logistic regression at the confidence interval of 95%.

Results: Within our sample (n = 204), injury rates were calculated across sub-groups of athletes that had only SIJ pain (n = 19), only SIJ dysfunction (n = 67), both SIJ pain and dysfunction (n = 15) or no SIJ complaints (n = 103). Across these groups, a total of 464 injuries were reported. SIJ pain group reported 80 injuries (17.2%), SIJ dysfunction group reported 210 injuries (45.2%), both SIJ pain and dysfunction group reported 58 injuries (12.5%, and the no SIJ pain or SIJ dysfunction group reported 116 injuries (25.0%). Participants with SIJ pain were more likely to report previous pelvic girdle injuries (overuse: odds ratio (OR): 0.017; 95% CI: 0.005-0.56; p < 0.001 and acute: OR: 0.197; 95%CI: 0.101-0.384; p < 0.001) and also lower limb injuries (overuse: OR: 0.179, 95%CI: 0.082-0.392, p < 0.001). Participants with SIJ dysfunction only were likely to report acute pelvic girdle injuries (OR: 0.165; 95%CI: 0.070-0.387; p < 0.001) and acute lower limb injuries (OR: 0.165; 95%CI: 0.030-0.184; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The presence of SIJ dysfunction and pain is associated with a history of acute and overuse injuries in the pelvic girdle and lower limb. Thus, SIJ dysfunction and pain should be specifically evaluated and addressed when designing rehabilitation programs for sports-related injuries.

Keywords: Injury risk; Musculoskeletal injuries; Prevalence; Sacroiliac Joint; Sports Injuries.