Unilateral sacroiliac overuse syndrome in military recruits

Although sarcroiliac strain is frequently diagnosed, objective evidence of such a disorder is generally lacking and the whole subject is controversial. The authors report four soldiers who developed pain in the sacroiliac region after excessive physical activity with abnormal scintigrams which resolved when the symptoms improved. It is concluded that the four patients described with unilateral sacroiliac pain and corresponding scintigraphic findings represent an overuse strain syndrome of the sacroiliac joint. Supporting this conclusion are the following: the scintigraphic findings resolved simultaneously with the resolution of the pain; the extreme intensity of the unilateral sacroiliac activity on these scane; the results of clinical examination were consistent with pain from sacroiliac origin; the fact that the pain was proportional to exertion and relieved by rest, and was unilateral; the normal results from laboratory investigations; the fact that no other soldier in the study group, in which 181 soldiers had bone scans, had abnormal sacroiliac activity.