Sacroiliac joint dysfunction in endurance runners: rehabilitation considerations and wearable usage in a remote setting, a systematic review (Preprint)

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have investigated the relationship between the anatomy and biomechanics of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain and dysfunction in endurance runners in order to understand the relationship between lower back pain and the SIJ. However, the majority of SIJ pain and dysfunction is diagnosed and managed via a traditional athlete-clinician arrangement whereby the athlete is required to attend regular in-person appointments. Wearable sensors are increasingly being utilized as clinical diagnostic tools to monitor an athlete’s day-to-day activities. Yet the occurrence of wearables being utilized in a remote setting to manage SIJ dysfunction in endurance runners is unknown.

This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) concerning wearable technologies and systems with scenarios for handling SIJ dysfunction in endurance runners in a remote setting.

Literature on SIJ movement and dysfunction and usage with wearables was reviewed by searching through the publication databases.

An initial 45 papers were analyzed which was subsequently reduced to 21 after further review. Of the 21 studies over half were literature reviews, four were case reports and none could be classified as fully experimental.

SIJ dysfunction is an underdiagnosed and undertreated in endurance runners. In addition, there is no clear diagnostic or treatment pathway using wearables remotely despite the technology being readily validated and available.