Medical and health treatments are based on scientific studies. One study is never enough to prove anything. And everyone takes notice when researchers get different results.
A new study repeating the work of another physical therapist has been reported. Therapists are looking for ways to test the sacroiliac joint (SIJ). It’s not enough to know there’s an SIJ problem. Finding out the exact problem is necessary. This helps therapists decide which treatment is best in each individual case.
Therapists want to find four tests that can be trusted to show what’s wrong with the SIJ. The four tests have been studied by one group and now repeated by another. In both studies, the four tests were done in the same way and in the same order. However, in the second study, different therapists using the same tests got different results.
Before therapists can treat the SIJ, the exact problem must be identified. Valid and reliable tests to give this information haven’t been found yet. Therapists need to find one or more tests that give the same result each time they are given. This means a patient with an SIJ problem could see any therapist and get the same answer about what’s wrong. It also means the best treatments will be used. More studies are needed to discover the most accurate tests for SIJ problems.