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Show detailsContinuing Education Activity
Facet joint disease is when the spine joints become a source of pain. It is a very common disease process, and its prevalence increases with age. This activity reviews the evaluation and treatment of facet joint disease and highlights the interprofessional team's role in treating patients with this condition.
Objectives:
- Identify the etiology of facet joint disease.
- Determine the appropriate evaluation of facet joint disease.
- Evaluate the treatment and management options available for facet joint disease.
- Communicate interprofessional team strategies to enhance care delivery to patients with facet joint disease to help improve patient outcomes.
Introduction
Facet joints form from 2 adjacent vertebrae's superior and inferior articular processes. They are synovial joints, which are fibrous capsules encompassing the bone and articulating cartilage and are continuous with the periosteum. The joint also contains synovial fluid kept in place by an inner membrane. These joints allow for flexion and extension of the spine while limiting rotation and preventing the vertebrae from slipping over each other. The sensory nerve of these joints is the medial branch of the dorsal spinal ramus. Facet joint disease, or facet syndrome, is when these joints become a source of pain. Facet joint-mediated pain is a common source of disability amongst our population with a significant economic impact. Chronic low back pain often results from facet joint disease, with a prevalence of 15 to 41%.[1]
Etiology
The most common cause of facet joint disease is degeneration of the spine, also known as spondylosis. When the degeneration of the joint is secondary to natural wearing and abnormal body mechanics, the condition is known as osteoarthritis (OA). The pathophysiology of OA is not entirely understood but is a complex one involving various cytokines and proteolytic enzymes as well as personal risk factors. Other causes of facet joint disease include trauma secondary to injury or sporting activities. Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis may also contribute to the inflammation of the synovium. Subluxation of the facet joints due to spondylolisthesis can also contribute to the development of facet joint disease. Those with facet joint disease show signs of cartilage erosion and inflammation, which can lead to pain. The body also undergoes several physical changes in response to this process. Ligaments, such as the ligamentum flavum, can become thickened and hypertrophic. New bone formation around the joint can occur with the development of osteophytes or “bone spurs.” Hypomineralization can also increase subchondral bone volume.[2]
Epidemiology
The lifetime adult prevalence of low back pain in the United States is 65 to 80%.[3] This prevalence is consistent with the idea that degeneration is the leading contributory cause of facet joint disease, as the elderly population is more often affected. There have been no studies that confirm that males are affected more often than females. However, having a history of doing heavy work before age 20 increases the likelihood of developing facet joint osteoarthritis.[4] Obesity also largely contributes to osteoarthritis; thus, it is likely a contributing factor in the development of facet joint disease. Spondylolisthesis caused by degeneration is often caused by facet joint osteoarthritis and typically occurs at the L4-L5 level. Spondylolisthesis in a younger population (30 to 40) is due to congenital abnormalities, stress, or acute fractures.[4] Cervical facet disease and pain have a prevalence rate of 29 to 60% following whiplash injuries, although overall trauma is still a rare cause.[5]
History and Physical
Facet joint disease is often a clinical diagnosis, so the history and physical exam are critical. Patients who present with chronic back pain have symptoms that often overlap with other diagnoses. Facet-mediated pain is typically non-radicular. The pain is often described by patients as worse in the mornings, upon awakening, or during periods of inactivity. It may also worsen with spine extension, facet joint palpation, and rotary trunk motion. Pain can be elicited by facet joint palpation and axial loading. Reproducing the patient’s pain with Kemp’s maneuver, lateral rotation, lateral bending, and back extension suggests facet joint disease and arthropathy. In the lumbar area, this pain can be unilateral but is typically axial, with occasional radiation into the buttock, groin, and thighs and down to the knee.[6] There are reports of radiation of pain to the abdominal and pelvic areas; however, this is less frequent.[7] This “pseudo-radicular” pain does not have any associated neurological deficits. When this radiating pain is present, it can mimic sciatic pain, but this is most often in cases of osteophytes or synovial cysts.[4] It is important to rule out other causes of lower back pain, such as disc herniations, vertebral body fractures, and neoplastic causes of the patient’s pain.
Evaluation
It is often challenging to isolate facet joint disease as the sole cause of a patient’s complaint of neck or back pain. Imaging has not been proven to have much, if any, diagnostic validity. X-ray, CT, and MRI may show degeneration, joint space narrowing, facet joint hypertrophy, joint space calcification, and osteophytes; however, these findings may be present in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Data shows that 89% of patients in the 60 to 69 years of age population studied have facet joint osteoarthritis, although not all were symptomatic.[8] Diagnostic medial branch blocks are the gold standard for diagnosing facet joint pain. A positive response to a set of 2 diagnostic blocks done on 2 separate occasions at 2 or more levels can confirm the source of pain. High false-positive responses are more likely if only 1 level is blocked.[9]
Treatment / Management
Conservative management is used as first-line therapy to treat facet-mediated pain. Anti-inflammatory medications, weight loss, muscle relaxers, physical therapy, and massage are used in conjunction as a multimodal approach to treating pain. When conservative measures fail, interventional procedures are considered to reduce pain, improve functionality, and reduce side effects from medications.[10] Diagnostic medial branch blocks are often performed to confirm that the pain is generated from the facet joints. Two diagnostic medial branch blocks are often an option secondary to the high (30 to 45%) false-positive success rate reported after a single block.[11] If a patient has a positive response to a set of 2 diagnostic blocks, radiofrequency ablation can then be done to ablate the medial branch nerves. Improved function and decreased pain have lasted 6 to 12 months following lumbar medial branch radiofrequency ablation.[8] Radiofrequency ablation uses heat to destroy the medial branch of the sensory nerve temporarily, thus reducing pain. The procedures mentioned above are usually done under local anesthesia and fluoroscopic guidance. Because nerves regenerate eventually, the procedure is repeatable when the patient’s pain returns, typically in 6 to 12 months. Currently, no guidelines are available to support arthrodesis when interventional procedures fail to provide pain relief. Surgery may be indicated for grade I or grade II spondylolisthesis; however, this is not first-line management and may not result in the reduction of pain.[4]
Differential Diagnosis
The differential diagnosis for facet joint disease include the following:
- Sciatica
- Hip osteoarthritis
- Sacroiliac impingement
- Lumbar radiculopathy
- Myofascial pain
- Compression fractures
- Disc herniation
- Osteophytes
- Rheumatoid arthritis
Prognosis
Facet joint disease is a chronic process that can cause pain for the remainder of an individual’s lifetime. Facet joint disease is a progressive disease. The spinal and joint degeneration typically progresses as the patient ages. Maintaining a healthy weight and active lifestyle is essential to prevent the degeneration from progressing. Physical therapy and core strengthening exercises can strengthen the spine and reduce the stress on the facet joints. Interventional procedures such as medial branch blocks and radiofrequency ablations do not treat the underlining cause of the patient’s pain but allow the patient’s pain to be more manageable. Patients can have a reduction in their pain for months at a time, but some studies have shown an even longer-term decrease in pain of up to 2 years after radiofrequency ablations.[12]
Complications
Complications of treatment of facet joint pain with medial branch blocks or radiofrequency ablation are rare. Patients may have a transient increase in pain following radiofrequency ablations and medial branch blocks due to heat denervation and needle entry. Post-dural headaches, transient numbness or weakness, bleeding, infection, and increased post-procedural pain are all potential but rare complications of facet interventions.
Deterrence and Patient Education
Patient education is of the utmost importance with patients treated for pain. Patients should receive information that facet joint disease is lifelong and progressive. Complete resolution of the patient’s pain is typically not observed, which is crucial to any discussion with the patient. Prevention of disease progression through a healthy lifestyle, diet, and exercise is imperative; this can help reduce the stress on the facet joints, reducing inflammation and pain.
Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
Treating patients in pain can often be challenging. The healthcare workers (ie, the primary care provider, internist, and orthopedic surgeon) need to listen to the patient to obtain a solid history and perform a complete physical exam to diagnose the source of the patient’s pain and, importantly, rule out more serious causes for the pain. Although complications are rare, prompt follow-up after facet joint interventions is necessary to ensure no negative side effects have occurred. The clinician may want to explore other pain mitigation strategies, especially those that do not involve opioids. To help slow down the facet joint disease, educating the patient on the importance of lifestyle changes is of vital importance. Facet joint arthrosis requires a collaborative interprofessional approach that includes physicians, nurses, therapists, and pharmacists who are engaged and communicate all aspects of the patient's case to bring about the best possible outcome.
References
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- Maas ET, Juch JN, Ostelo RW, Groeneweg JG, Kallewaard JW, Koes BW, Verhagen AP, Huygen FJ, van Tulder MW. Systematic review of patient history and physical examination to diagnose chronic low back pain originating from the facet joints. Eur J Pain. 2017 Mar;21(3):403-414. [PubMed: 27723170]
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- Li G, Yin J, Gao J, Cheng TS, Pavlos NJ, Zhang C, Zheng MH. Subchondral bone in osteoarthritis: insight into risk factors and microstructural changes. Arthritis Res Ther. 2013;15(6):223. [PMC free article: PMC4061721] [PubMed: 24321104]
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- Longo UG, Loppini M, Denaro L, Maffulli N, Denaro V. Rating scales for low back pain. Br Med Bull. 2010;94:81-144. [PubMed: 20064820]
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- Perolat R, Kastler A, Nicot B, Pellat JM, Tahon F, Attye A, Heck O, Boubagra K, Grand S, Krainik A. Facet joint syndrome: from diagnosis to interventional management. Insights Imaging. 2018 Oct;9(5):773-789. [PMC free article: PMC6206372] [PubMed: 30090998]
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- Crosby ND, Gilliland TM, Winkelstein BA. Early afferent activity from the facet joint after painful trauma to its capsule potentiates neuronal excitability and glutamate signaling in the spinal cord. Pain. 2014 Sep;155(9):1878-1887. [PMC free article: PMC4157970] [PubMed: 24978827]
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- Manchikanti L, Singh V, Pampati V, Damron KS, Barnhill RC, Beyer C, Cash KA. Evaluation of the relative contributions of various structures in chronic low back pain. Pain Physician. 2001 Oct;4(4):308-16. [PubMed: 16902676]
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- Piraccini E, Calli M, Corso RM, Byrne H, Maitan S. Abdominal and pelvic pain: an uncommon sign in lumbar facet joint syndrome. Minerva Anestesiol. 2017 Jan;83(1):104-105. [PubMed: 27456148]
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- Kalichman L, Hunter DJ. Lumbar facet joint osteoarthritis: a review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Oct;37(2):69-80. [PubMed: 17379279]
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- Cohen SP, Williams KA, Kurihara C, Nguyen C, Shields C, Kim P, Griffith SR, Larkin TM, Crooks M, Williams N, Morlando B, Strassels SA. Multicenter, randomized, comparative cost-effectiveness study comparing 0, 1, and 2 diagnostic medial branch (facet joint nerve) block treatment paradigms before lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Anesthesiology. 2010 Aug;113(2):395-405. [PubMed: 20613471]
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- Urits I, Burshtein A, Sharma M, Testa L, Gold PA, Orhurhu V, Viswanath O, Jones MR, Sidransky MA, Spektor B, Kaye AD. Low Back Pain, a Comprehensive Review: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2019 Mar 11;23(3):23. [PubMed: 30854609]
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- Manchukonda R, Manchikanti KN, Cash KA, Pampati V, Manchikanti L. Facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain: an evaluation of prevalence and false-positive rate of diagnostic blocks. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2007 Oct;20(7):539-45. [PubMed: 17912133]
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- McCormick ZL, Marshall B, Walker J, McCarthy R, Walega DR. Long-Term Function, Pain and Medication Use Outcomes of Radiofrequency Ablation for Lumbar Facet Syndrome. Int J Anesth Anesth. 2015;2(2) [PMC free article: PMC4440581] [PubMed: 26005713]
Disclosure: Lindsay Curtis declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Disclosure: Neal Shah declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Disclosure: Devang Padalia declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
- Facet-joint injections for non-specific low back pain: a feasibility RCT.[Health Technol Assess. 2017]Facet-joint injections for non-specific low back pain: a feasibility RCT.Snidvongs S, Taylor RS, Ahmad A, Thomson S, Sharma M, Farr A, Fitzsimmons D, Poulton S, Mehta V, Langford R. Health Technol Assess. 2017 Dec; 21(74):1-130.
- Lumbar Facet Arthropathy.[StatPearls. 2024]Lumbar Facet Arthropathy.Mann SJ, Viswanath O, Singh P. StatPearls. 2024 Jan
- Endoscopically guided foraminal and dorsal rhizotomy for chronic axial back pain based on cadaver and endoscopically visualized anatomic study.[Int J Spine Surg. 2014]Endoscopically guided foraminal and dorsal rhizotomy for chronic axial back pain based on cadaver and endoscopically visualized anatomic study.Yeung A, Gore S. Int J Spine Surg. 2014; 8. Epub 2014 Dec 1.
- Review Systematic review of diagnostic utility of facet (zygapophysial) joint injections in chronic spinal pain: an update.[Pain Physician. 2007]Review Systematic review of diagnostic utility of facet (zygapophysial) joint injections in chronic spinal pain: an update.Sehgal N, Dunbar EE, Shah RV, Colson J. Pain Physician. 2007 Jan; 10(1):213-28.
- Review A systematic review of therapeutic facet joint interventions in chronic spinal pain.[Pain Physician. 2007]Review A systematic review of therapeutic facet joint interventions in chronic spinal pain.Boswell MV, Colson JD, Sehgal N, Dunbar EE, Epter R. Pain Physician. 2007 Jan; 10(1):229-53.
- Facet Joint Disease - StatPearlsFacet Joint Disease - StatPearls
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