Facet Joint Pain

Facet joints are the structures that connect the spinal vertebrae to each other. A facet joint is like many other joints in the body — it has a cartilage lining that allows the bones to glide smoothly over each other and is surrounded by a protective capsule. The function of a facet joint is to provide stability, mobility and support to the spine. Each vertebra has two facet joints, one on each side.

Symptoms related to facet joint problems are usually localized to the area of the affected joint and are often experienced in the cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back) and lumbar (lower back) regions. When facets in the lumbar region are affected, a patient may experience lower back pain that radiates to the buttocks and upper thigh area. If facets in the cervical area are affected, pain may occur in the back of the neck and radiate to the top of the shoulders or around the neck.

Facet joint pain is spinal pain related to these joints in the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine. These pains are usually described as an ache or stiffness feeling and after often associated with spine muscle tenderness and stiffness. Symptoms can come and go. At times the symptoms are minimal but can flare with more moderate to severe activity. 

Severe incapacitating pain is not typical of facet pain. In more advanced cases of facet arthritis, bone spurs can form and/or the joints enlarge and pinch spinal nerves or the spinal cord and cause radicular pain or spinal stenosis symptoms. Myelopathy, or injury to the spinal cord, can occur if the joints in the neck or thoracic area enlarge enough to compress the spinal cord itself.

As with other joints in the body, osteoarthritis (“wear and tear”) is the most common cause of this painful joint condition. Other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, trauma or whiplash, and stresses related to degenerative disk disease, scoliosis, or prior back surgery can also contribute to spinal joint pain. In these conditions, inflammation and pain in the facets is most common in older populations as a degenerative process, but can also occur in younger people, particularly if there is a history of prior spine trauma including fracture or whiplash.