Did You Know?

Facet joint disease in its later stages can worsen to the point where it can be hard to even get out of bed. When this happens and conservative therapies and treatments have failed, what can you do to reduce your pain?

  • Endoscopic Rhizotomy
    Using this endoscopic surgery technique, the facet joint arthritis and nerves that sense the facet joint pain can be identified under direct vision. Laser, radiofrequency, and micro cutters can be used to deaden the pain nerves only to the facet joints precisely. The technique produces long lasting pain relief and is minimally invasive. For more information on how an Endoscopic Facet Rhizotomy is performed please click here.
  • Spinal Fusion
    If your facet joint disease is severe you may require a bone fusion to help reduce symptoms. This surgery would only be used in a small amount of cases and never before exhausting other surgical options. This surgery is not minimally invasive and will require large incisions and longer recovery times, try again
  • Radiofrequency Facet Rhizotomy
    By deadening the nerves surrounding your joints you can turn them off so that they no longer send pain signals to the brain. This procedure is a blind approach using electric needles and x-ray guidance. The small nerves that need to be treated are not visualized. The pain relief with radiofrequency rhizotomy is not reliable and often temporarily.try again

What is Facet Joint Disease?

The facet joints are part of the connection between the adjacent vertebrae. When the spine wears and tears, the spinal discs become thinner, placing more of the burden of support onto these joints. The increased stress causes inflammation and formation of bone spurs leading to arthritis of the facet joint.

Symptoms of Facet Joint Disease

Facet joint disease often causes pain intermittently with episodes coming as frequent as a few times a month. The area affected will be tender to the touch. Symptoms of pain may be felt in the buttocks and down the back of the thigh if the affected joint is in the lumbar (lower) spine, and in the shoulders and upper arms if in the cervical (neck) spine. Although these symptoms are a close match to a herniated disc they are very distinguishable as facet joint disease pain will very rarely be felt beyond these areas.

What Causes Facet Joint Disease?

Facet joint disease is caused by wear and tear incurred as we age, whether it is natural or mechanical in nature. As the joints wear down and inflammation sets in, we are put at risk for problems such as bone spurs and facet arthritis.

Treatment Options for Facet Joint Disease

The conservative treatment of facet joint disease should be attempted before surgery options are discussed. Conservative treatment includes hot and cold therapy, activity modifications, exercises that target the affected area, physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, and anti-inflammatory medicine.

A spinal fusion is often recommended for surgical treatment of facet disease if conservative treatments fail to provide adequate relief for the patient. A spinal fusion requires large incisions, the use of general anesthesia, and a long recovery time coupled with months of physical therapy. After the spinal fusion the patient may incur a loss of spinal motion depending on how many vertebrae where fused together.

An alternative to a spinal fusion surgery is an endoscopic facet rhizotomy. An endoscopic rhizotomy procedure is performed under local anesthetic and only requires a very small incision (7mm). To learn more about this procedure and to see if you are a candidate click here.

How Can We Help

Atlantic Spinal Care has been successfully treating Facet Joint Disease in hundreds of patients every year. If you are interested in learning more about how Atlantic Spinal Care can help you relieve the pain you suffer as a result of Facet Joint Disease please consider one or more of the following options: