Abstract
Facet joint pain is the second most common cause of chronic lower back pain, accounting for approximately 15 % of cases in younger patients and approximately 30 % of patients older than 60 [1]. Recall from Chap. 1 that the facet joints are the hinge joints in the spine that allow trunk flexion and resist extension and rotation. Facet joints are synovial joints and as such have the same basic parts as the other mobile joints in the human body such as the knee, shoulder, hip, and finger. For this reason, their technical name in the spine is zygapophyseal joints. However, they will be referred to as facet joints in this book as this is the common accepted medical practice. Pain may occur in the facet joint because of arthritis, cartilage tearing, or capsular tearing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Suggested Further Reading
Schwarzer AC, Wang S, Bogduk N, McNaught PJ, Laurent R. Prevalence and clinical features of lumbar zygapophysial joint pain: a study in an Australian population with chronic low back pain. Ann Rheum Dis. 1995;54:100–6.
Eubanks JD, Lee MJ, Cassinelli E, Ahn NU. Prevalence of lumbar facet arthrosis and its relationship to age, sex, and race: an anatomic study of cadaveric specimens. Spine. 2007;32(19):2058–62.
Abbas J, Hamoud K, Peleg S, May H, Masharawi Y, Cohen H, Hershkovitz I, Peled N. Facet joints arthrosis in normal and stenotic lumbar spines. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011;36(24):E1541–6. doi:10.1097/BRS.0b013e318210c889.
Schwarzer AC, APrill CN, Derby R, et al. Clinical features of patients with pain stemming from the lumbar zygapophyseal joints. Is the lumbar facet syndrome a clinical entity? Spine. 1994;19(10):1132–7.
Mayer TG, Gatchel RJ, Keelye J, et al. A randomized clinical trial of treatment of lumbar segmental rigidity. Spine. 2004;29(20):2199–205.
Schulte TL, Pietilä TA, Heidenreich J, Brock M, Stendel R. Injection therapy of lumbar facet syndrome: a prospective study. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2006;148(11):1165–72; discussion 1172.
Ständer M, März U, Steude U, Tonn JC. The facet syndrome: frequent cause of chronic backaches [German]. MMW Fortschr Med. 2006;148(43):33–4.
Shih C, Lin GY, Yueh KC, Lin JJ. Lumbar zygapophyseal joint injections in patients with chronic lower back pain. J Chin Med Assoc. 2005;68(2):59–64.
Maldjian C, Mesgarzadeh M, Tehranzadeh J. Diagnostic and therapeutic features of facet and sacroiliac joint injection. Anatomy, pathophysiology, and technique. Radiol Clin North Am. 1998;36(3):497–508.
Falco FJ. Lumbar spine injection procedures in the management of low back pain. Occup Med. 1998;13(1):121–49.
Lilius G, Laasonen EM, Myllynen P, Harilainen A, Grönlund G. Lumbar facet joint syndrome. A randomised clinical trial. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1989;71(4):681–4.
Slipman CW, Bhat AL, Gilchrist RV, et al. A critical review of the evidence for the use of zygapophysial injections and radiofrequency denervation in the treatment of low back pain. Spine J. 2003;3(4):310–6.
Bogduk N. International Spinal Injection Society guidelines for the performance of spinal injection procedures. Part 1: Zygapophysial joint blocks. Clin J Pain. 1998;13(4):285–302.
Schwarzer AC, April CN, Derby R, Fortin J, Kine G, Bogduk N. The false positive rate of uncontrolled diagnostic blocks of the lumbar zygapophyseal joints. Pain. 1994;58:195–200.
Dreyfuss P, Halbrook B, Pauza K, et al. Lumbar radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic zygapophysial joint pain: a pilot study using dual medial branch blocks. ISIS Sci Newsl. 1999;3(2):13–33.
van Wijk RM, Geurts JW, Wynne HJ, et al. Radiofrequency denervation of lumbar facet joints in the treatment of chronic low back pain: a randomized, double-blind, sham lesion-controlled trial. Clin J Pain. 2005;21(4):335–44.
Hooten WM, Martin DP, Huntoon MA. Radiofrequency neurotomy for low back pain: evidence-based procedural guidelines. Pain Med. 2005;6(2):129–38.
Dreyfuss P, Halbrook B, Pauza K, et al. Efficacy and validity of radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain. Spine. 2000;25(10):1270–7.
North RB, Han M, Zahurak M, et al. Radiofrequency lumbar facet denervation: analysis of prognostic factors. Pain. 1994;57:77–83.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cooper, G. (2015). Facet Joint Arthropathy. In: Non-Operative Treatment of the Lumbar Spine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21443-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21443-6_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21442-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21443-6
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)