What in the world is a facet joint and how did mine get damaged?

What in the world is a facet joint and how did mine get damaged?

What is it?
The flexible portion of the spine is composed of the vertebral body, the facet joint, and the intervertebral disc. The facet joints, located between and behind adjacent vertebrae, are responsible for stabilizing the spine to provide the perfect amount of flexibility needed to turn, look around, and get around. This joint stabilizes the spine and works to prevent excessive motion that could lead to over-twisting and toppling over. Each facet joint is enclosed in a small sack of tiny nerve fibers that provide a warning when irritated.

Did you know?
The facet joints are sometimes known as the joints with small faces because they are found at every spinal level except the top level and provide 20% of the twisting stability for the neck and lower back.

Causes:

• Aging
• Pressure overload of the facet joints
• Injury

Symptoms:

• Acute episodes of lumbar & cervical facet joint pain will typically occur intermittently and are unpredictable in nature, often occurring several time per month or per year
• The inflamed facet joints will have a persistent tenderness and a loss in spinal flexibility
• Typically increased pain when bending backward than forward
• Lower back pain from facet joints extends down to the buttocks as well as to the back of the upper leg
• Cervical facet joint problems radiate locally, into the shoulder, or upper back

Diagnosis:
Facet joint disorders are some of the most common and recurring of the lower back and neck. They are often difficult to diagnose because the symptoms so closely imitate those of a herniated disc, infections, fractures, or torn muscles. Painful episodes associated with facet joints are recurrent, and unpredictable in both timing and extent. It is when the painful episodes recur more often that an X-ray or CT scan can provide useful information and a proper diagnosis of the problem.

Non-surgical Treatments:

• See a physical therapist or other healthcare provider to assist in creating a proper exercise plan
• Maintain good posture
• Apply heat or cold to help alleviate the pain associated with flare ups
• Change daily activities to add in rest breaks (shortening long commutes)
• Use anti-inflammatory medications such as NSAIDs (ibuprofen) or CPX-2 inhibitors (Celebrex)
• Visit a chiropractor
• Use a supportive neck pillow while sleeping or a restraining collar
• Lumbar Radiofrequency Neurotomy is a minimally-invasive solution, also called radiofrequency (RF) rhizotomy, Lumbar Radiofrequency reduces or eliminates the pain of damaged facet joints by disrupting the medial branch nerves that carry the pain signals. This procedure is performed with local anesthetic. Although pain may increase for the first week after the procedure, the patient usually has relief from pain within a month. Successful RF neurotomies can last longer than steroid block injections. Learn more about the procedure in our next post…
• Botox injections to treat muscle spasms

Surgeries:
If the patient suffers from severe and persistent facet joint problems, the adjoining disc will most likely degenerate which may require a bone fusion surgery to stop both the facet joint and associated disc problems. Surgery is an extremely rare option for facet joint problems, as combinations of the treatments mentioned above will often provide a manageable solution for the patient.

If you, or a loved one, is suffering from chronic pain that represents itself as facet joint pain, give us a call and we’ll provide you with the step-by-step process of scheduling an appointment with Dr. Lipson.

Contact Central Florida Pain Management Today, Your Pain Free Life Is Waiting…

Sources: spine-health.com

Dr. Ana Lipson
Central Florida Pain Management
410 First Street South
Winter Haven FL 33880
Phone: 863-293-4800
Web Site: http://www.analipsonmd.com/