Facet Joint Syndrome - Dr. Matty Wong Chiropractor

Spinal facet syndrome

Spinal facet syndrome is an arthritis disease which causes pain in the spine and neck. As the joints between the spine degenerate, the soft tissues in the small joints begin to rupture and inflame which causes pain in nearby nerve endings. Medicine, manual therapy, joint injection, nerve blockage and nerve radio frequency treatments can relieve pain.

Facet Joint

The spine is composed of connected movable bones called vertebrae. Each vertebrae is composed of 3 joints, with a vertebral body in front and 2 facets in the back. This allows spinal movement such as bending and twisting. Healthy facet joints allow smooth spinal movements but also prevents extreme twisting motion.

What is facet joint syndrome?

Facet joint syndrome is when one or more small joints start to develop pain. Degeneration of the spine can cause facet joints to wear and tear. Over time, the facet joint capsule becomes thinner, soft tissue ruptures and degenerates where bone spurs may form on the facet joint causing inflammation. Inflammation of the joints sends signals of pain to the brain and also causes peripheral muscles to become stiff and spasm.

Figure 1: Circle indicates facet joints

Figure 2: Top circle indicates a healthy facet joint. Lower circle shows the facet joint capsule degenerate.

Are symptoms similar to herniated discs?

Discomfort is usually located in the lower back, which can extend to the buttocks; if the discomfort is in the neck, the pain may extend to the shoulders and back. Standing, long terms of inactivity and bad posture such as movement in the lower back, neck tilting backward can result increased pain. Pain may be temporarily eased when sitting, leaning forward or changing postures. In fact, the symptoms of facet joint syndrome are quite similar to herniated discs.

As we gradually grow old, the soft tissue between facet joints will slowly deteriorate. Injuries, repetitive movements, obesity, poor posture and other spinal changes can also cause facet joint damage. The changes in the facet joints may begin with the deterioration of the intervertebral disc. When the weight load is transferred to the facet joints, it causes the soft tissue to rupture causing joint space narrowing, and resulting in facet joint pain.

Figure 3: Avoid bad posture and repetitive movement

Chiropractic and other treatments

Chiropractic treatment on facet joint syndrome. By adjusting the joint, that will release compression of the facet joints, movement of the facet joints can be restored. In addition to chiropractic treatment, medicine is another type of treatment to facet joint syndrome. Anti-inflammatory medicine is another effective treatment to decrease inflammation. However, long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs will have some side effects.

Another type of therapy is “Radiofrequency Ablation’”. It makes the nerves that are causing pain by not sending signal to the brain. This treatment is very effective, but it should be noted that new nerves might regrow in 6 months to 2 years. If the chronic facet pain persist and no progress has been made after trying all methods, patients should consider undergoing surgical fusion at the facet joint.