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Like any other joint in our body, the facet joint can develop into an arthritic source of pain affecting the back. When arthritic pain is felt it is referred to as facet arthropathy which loosely means a disease or abnormality in the facet joint.
Bone spurs can develop over a period of time, as increased amounts of stress is applied on the facet joint and the cartilage diminishes.
Covered in a layer of smooth cartilage, the facet joint surfaces are encapsulated by ligaments and lubricated with synovial fluid.
The majority of the population that suffer from facet arthropathy feel symptoms of low back pain that will increase in intensity through twisting or extension motion. With a herniated disc or sciatica the pain will often radiate into the buttocks and back of the legs, but with facet arthropathy the pain is well localized to the afflicted area.
Facet arthropathy develops from
- Degeneration
- Disc problems
- Fractured bones
- Previous traumatic back injury
- Torn ligaments
Over a period of time, facet arthropathy can aid in the development of a bone spur. This adds confusion to the diagnosis because the bone spur can place pressure on the exiting nerve root producing symptoms of radiating pain, numbness and muscular weakness often found in spinal stenosis.
Facet arthropathy diagnosis
although it’s very rarely the sole cause of lumbar back pain, sufferers of facet arthropathy will most often have or back conditions that contribute symptoms to their facet arthritis. These back conditions include, degenerative disc disease, bone spurs, arthritis in another section of the spine, and spinal stenosis.
A CT scan or a MRI will often show signs of facet joint degeneration in the majority of people affected with facet arthrosis. When a bone scan is performed, areas of inflammation in the spine can be shown and identification of facet joint arthritis adding to the patients back pain can be determined.
Another way to diagnose facet arthropathy is to selectively block the facet joints with a local anesthetic to see if the pain goes away. If the pain in the back disappears or significantly diminishes, then facet disease in the joint injected can be determined with a high level of certainty.