Facet Joint Pain: How It Works, Explained Simply

Video Transcript

Facet joint pain is a common but often overlooked cause of back and neck pain. At the back of each level of the spine sits a pair of small joints, the facet joints, that let you bend and twist. Like any joint, they have smooth cartilage and a lubricated capsule. And like any joint, they can wear down and become inflamed. When they do, the pain is usually felt close to the spine, and it tends to worsen when you lean back or twist. It can also spread outward, into the buttock, the thigh, or the shoulder blade, but rarely past the knee or into the hand. Here's a key point. Imaging can't confirm facet pain. Worn joints appear on the scans of people with no pain at all. So the diagnosis is made with a numbing test on the small nerves that carry the joint's pain, called a medial branch block. If numbing those nerves clearly relieves the pain, a longer-lasting treatment called radiofrequency ablation may be an option. This video is for general education only. It is not medical advice. Ask your doctor what's right for you.