Facet Arthritis Back Pain Management
Facet arthritis is not yet curable, but Biscup Spine provides services to help mitigate pain and improve mobility, including pain management options and surgical techniques.
What is this condition?
Facet joints are the joints that hold vertebrae together. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between these joints wears down and vertebrae exert pressure on each other.
Symptoms:
- Deep, aching pain
- Pain with motion, especially when stretching the spine
- Lower back pain running from the buttocks to the back of the upper leg
- Tender feeling over affected joints
The symptoms of facet arthritis are similar to other spinal conditions like degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, and spondylolisthesis. Biscup Spine’s state-of-the-art imaging technology allows Dr. Biscup to confirm the source of your back pain before tailoring a treatment plan.
Creating Your Back Pain Management Plan
In most cases, the goal of treatment for this condition is to ablate, or destroy, the nerve endings causing pain around the facet joint. Because the nerve endings usually begin growing back within three to eight months, regular treatment will allow you to live without complications from arthritis.
Other treatments for facet arthritis include over-the-counter and prescription medications, physical therapy, epidurals, facet blocks, and regenerative medicine techniques. Surgical treatments, like spinal fusion, should only be used in extreme cases.