FACET JOINT SYNDROME

Common Signs and Symptoms of Facet Joint Pain

Facet joints are tiny joints that connect vertebral bones. They provide spine stability as well as mobility. Facet joints also aid in the development of bony openings through which spinal cord nerves pass the spinal column and travel to other parts of the body, such as the legs and arms.

Facet joints can become inflamed, irritated, or misaligned as a result of an injury or a medical condition such as spondylosis. Because these joints occur in the neck, upper back, and lower back, the signs and symptoms differ depending on the location of the irritated joints. The following describes the most common signs and symptoms of facet joint pain:

• Back stiffness (for example, a person may struggle to turn around while driving to look behind them).
• Pain at the affected facet joint—this pain can feel dull, achy, or even sharp with certain movements.

If swelling and inflammation near the facet joint become severe enough to compress a nearby spinal nerve, a person may experience pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in an arm or leg.

Accurately Diagnosing Facet Joint Syndrome

The first step in diagnosing facet joint syndrome is to see a spine doctor. The doctor will ask a few questions about the patient’s pain, history of injury, and whether the problem worsens while sleeping or standing. Your doctor may then advise you to move or stand in positions that cause you pain. This enables your doctor to further understand the problem.

A diagnostic facet joint injection may allow your doctor to identify the cause of your pain. This injection contains a corticosteroid as well as a local anesthetic. Your doctor will use X-ray fluoroscopy to ensure that the needle is inserted correctly. You will return home after 20-30 minutes of direct observation. If your pain level decreases by more than 70%, your doctor will conclude that the source of the pain emanates from the facet joint

Facet Joint Pain Treatments

To begin, your doctor will recommend conservative therapies such as self-care, physical therapy, and medications. A wide range of nonsurgical treatments are available, and many are performed concurrently. The following describes Nonsurgical lumbar facet joint pain treatment:

• Heat therapy
• Actively engaging in low-impact exercises.
• Keeping active.
• Giving support for the lumbar curve.
• Making use of a cold pack.
• Using a brace for support.

Self-care

Keeping posture and keeping your spine in alignment are important things you can do to avoid pain as much as possible. This may necessitate a change in your daily standing, sitting, and sleeping habits. Doctors recommend losing weight as one of the most effective ways to reduce stress on facet joints and thus pain.

Therapy for the body

Exercise works effectively in treating facet joint syndrome and can help speed up the healing process, which may seem counterintuitive. Physical therapists can suggest proper lifting techniques as well as proper walking techniques. They will also work with you to strengthen and stretch the muscles in your lower back, legs, and stomach.

Exercises

The results you can expect from the strengthening and stretching exercises they show you, as with any suggested treatment, are directly proportional to your ability to follow them consistently. Pain in the facet joints can make it difficult to work, drive, sleep, or even get dressed in the morning. We strongly advise anyone suffering from facet joint pain or other symptoms to seek professional help from a spine doctor. There are also some exercises you can do on your own to help with daily pain relief while waiting for your doctor’s appointment. The following are some of the best exercises for facet joint pain:

Knee to the chest

Lie down on your back. Tighten your abdominal muscles gently and bring both knees to your chest. Hug your knees gently for 30 to 60 seconds, then relax. You can also try this exercise with only one leg.

Pelvic tilt to the back

Lay on your back, feet flat on the ground, knees bent. Tuck your bottom in and flatten your lower back against the ground. Rep 20 to 30 times more. This is excellent for improving core strength, which is critical for overall spine health!

Walking

Take your phone, a friend, or even your dog for a 10- to 20-minute walk around your neighborhood. Aerobic exercise can help you sleep better, reduce pain, and improve your mood.

Medications

Your doctor may prescribe oral anti-inflammatory medications or topical patches, creams, or salves. If muscle spasms become a problem, your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants to help prevent them.

Joint injections with steroids

Steroids can help reduce swelling and inflammation in the facet joint nerves. The minimally invasive procedure called a Facet Joint block injects corticosteroids and an analgesic-numbing agent into the painful joint. This can provide pain relief for several days to years.  Steroid joint injections can help improve your condition when combined with physical therapy and exercise. The procedure can be repeated if necessary.

Radiofrequency nerve ablation

If steroid joint injections do not provide long-term pain relief, this procedure, which begins with a diagnostic nerve block test will determine the nerves to treat. Following the completion of the nerve block test, an anesthetic gets injected along the nerve to “block” pain. If that part of the procedure becomes successful, your doctor will proceed with radiofrequency ablation to achieve longer-term pain relief.

The nerve ablation procedure is similar to that of a nerve block. Once the needle is in place to place the electrode, a radiofrequency current is used to destroy some of the medial branch nerve fibers in the joint that carry pain signals. This procedure typically relieves pain for 9 months to more than 2 years. It’s important to remember that there’s always the chance that the nerve will regrow through the burned lesion.

Surgery

The goal of facet syndrome surgery is to attain pain relief, stabilize the spine, and improve mobility. Facet syndrome requires immediate surgery only in extremely rare cases. If the neurosurgeons recommend surgery it is because conventional treatments have failed and the following symptoms still exist

• Difficulties in standing or walking
• Incapacitating Pain

Facet syndrome symptoms frequently mimic other medical conditions, so it is critical to see a highly trained team of spine specialists like those at the Southwest Scoliosis and Spine Institute where spine patients can get the best care and treatment available. Our specialists at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care have advanced training in diagnosing and treating spine conditions. They believe in treating back pain through an interdisciplinary approach that includes physiatry, pain management, physical therapy, and only when necessary – surgery.

Make an Appointment

The Southwest Scoliosis and Spine Institute doctors are well-versed in the options to treat Facet Joint Syndrome.  Our doctors, surgeons, technicians, and staff specialize in complex spinal conditions and have been continually recognized for their excellence.  We can see patients within 24 hours and so if you suffer from pain in your back, we invite you to call us for an appointment.  For our patient’s convenience, our doctors see patients in our offices in Dallas, Plano, and Frisco, Texas.  For your information, our board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeons have diagnosed and treated more than 100,000 patients. In addition, we have successfully performed more than 16,000 surgeries for scoliosis including complicated spine cases and revision surgeries.