Lumbar Facet Hypertrophy
Degeneration and enlargement of facet joints
Each vertebra has two facet joints, one on each
side. They are like the “knuckles” of the spine.
They are small joints that have cartilage lining like other joints in your body. These wear
down over time, with obesity, and with trauma (ex: MVA). Sometimes you have facet
disease without any other cause just due to your genetics.
Facet joints are meant to provide flexibility, stability, and support to the spine
Facet joints provide availability for the back to turn and twist and/or bend forward to
pick things up
Enlargement of facet joints can cause pressure on the surrounding spinal nerves and can
cause radiating nerve type pains
Symptoms of Lumbar Facet Disease
- Stiffness, discomfort when leaning backward, joint swelling, decreased mobility,
hunched back, muscle spasms and/or weakness, tenderness near inflamed facet joints
- May experience pain that radiates to buttock, hip, and upper thigh
- Sometimes difficult to diagnose because can present like herniated disc, spinal stenosis,
hip pains.
- Figuring out facet disease can involve process of elimination. An injection can help to do
this. If your pain goes away with a facet injection, then we know this is where your pain
is coming from.
