Oct 2010
Facet Joints - What's Really Going On in There?
26/10/10 19:37 Filed in: From the Research | Clinical Pearls
When asked the question "Where does spinal pain come from?", most of us would consider the facet joints to be a prime source. Indeed, epidemiology tells us that 31% of chronic lumbar pain and 55% of persistent cervical pain arises from the facet joint 'tissues' (1). But exactly what 'tissues' are we talking about?
If we interrogate the concept of facet joint pain we quickly come to realise that there's no 'one size fits all' diagnosis. And if this is the case, then there's also no 'one size fits all' prognosis, nor treatment. So what does research tell us about the nature of zygapophysial pain? Terms such as 'synovitis' and 'adhesions' are often promoted as an explanation, and they may well be part of the spectrum of facet joint lesions. But how common are these entities, and what causes them?
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If we interrogate the concept of facet joint pain we quickly come to realise that there's no 'one size fits all' diagnosis. And if this is the case, then there's also no 'one size fits all' prognosis, nor treatment. So what does research tell us about the nature of zygapophysial pain? Terms such as 'synovitis' and 'adhesions' are often promoted as an explanation, and they may well be part of the spectrum of facet joint lesions. But how common are these entities, and what causes them?
Read More...
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