Facet Joint Injections

What is Facet Joint Disease?

Otherwise known as osteoarthritis, Facet Joint Disease is a severe pain in the joints between the vertebrae (located at the rear of the spine.) A person who is experiencing this disease will experience these symptoms:

• Unpredictable bursts of pain from the joints (may only happen a couple of times a year)
• Frequent painful episodes
• Tenderness around the joints
• Loss of flexibility in the joints
• Lower back pain / shoulder pain

What is the process of Facet Joint Injections?

Most people realize that they need this injection after an X-Ray, which shows signs of arthritis. Once people surpass the age of 40 it is very common for them to experience pain in their joints and this is the age that most people need to have treatment because it can be chronic.

The injection itself contains general anesthetic and steroids.

1. The patient’s back will be wiped with an antiseptic – it is essential to prevent infection.
2. At this point, a general anesthetic is given to numb the pain
3. If the pain and discomfort come from more than one joint then multiple joints might have to be injected

What are the benefits of Facet Joint Injections?

The anesthetic in the injection will cause nerves to feel numb – it is an effective short-term pain relief.

The long-term relief comes from the reduction of inflammation found in the joints.

Are there any side effects?

Researchers have found that there are very little side effects and these can be treated easily using other medications. There are no dangerous long-term side effects – some people experience weight gain or raised blood pressure however this is only for a short amount of time. Other side effects include a bruised back after the injection.

It is important not to rush into certain activities after the operation – you need to ease back into simple tasks (such as walking up the stairs and lifting anything.) If you don’t take caution you could cause more damage due to a full recovery being disrupted.

The use of steroids does have side effects however yet again they aren’t life threatening. The side effects include flushes and abdominal pain. More serious side effects include cataracts, depression, and high blood pressure, however, if you have checked with your doctor before completing the operation then there shouldn’t be any issues. Most of these side effects are known to settle and reports show that they never last longer than 5 days.