what causes facet joint disease?
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What are the causes? As we get older, cartilage in our joints wears down. An injury, repetitive movements, obesity, poor posture and other spine conditions that change the way the facet joints align and move can cause pain. Changes in the facet joints can begin with the deterioration of a vertebral disc.
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The disease can occur in any joint in the body and is most commonly symptomatic in the small joints in the hands and feet. When rheumatoid arthritis affects the joints in the spine, it is far more common for the neck (cervical spine) to be affected than for the lower back.
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Social Security may award your disability claim if you have facet arthritis in the spine that results in compromise of a nerve root in the spinal cord. This must be demonstrated by neuro-anatomic distribution of pain, limitation of motion of the spine, and motor loss accompanied by sensory or reflex loss.
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Key Points. Acute pain in multiple joints is most often due to inflammation, gout, or the beginning or flare up of a chronic joint disorder. Chronic pain in multiple joints is usually due to osteoarthritis or an inflammatory disorder (such as rheumatoid arthritis) or, in children, juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
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['Back pain or stiffness. Enteropathic arthritis may cause back pain or stiffness, especially in the mornings, but the discomfort usually gets better as you move throughout the day. ... ', 'Swollen, red, painful joints.']
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The biomechanical function of each pair of facet joints is to guide and limit movement of the spinal motion segment. In the lumbar spine, for example, the facet joints function to protect the motion segment from anterior shear forces, excessive rotation and flexion.
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The facet joints provide support, stability and facilitate motion of the cervical spine. Facet joints are synovial joints, which have a smooth shiny contact surfaces called the articular cartilage. The articular cartilage allows the bones to slide freely over each other with reduced friction and stress.
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Bone spurs, also known as spondylophytes, can cause neck and back pain. Osteophytes—better known as bone spurs—are small, smooth bony growths that may develop near the edges of a vertebral body's endplates (called spondylophytes) or the spine's facet joints where cartilage has worn.
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In particular, osteoarthritis is associated with degenerative discs in the spine. See What Is Degenerative Disc Disease? Degenerative discs and osteoarthritis often occur hand in hand because the disc and facet joints (the joints in the back affected by osteoarthritis) are both part of the same three-joint complex.
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Facet Joint Injection Pain Relief Results. If the facet joints that were treated are the source of the pain, the patient will have immediate pain relief from the local anesthetic and may begin to notice longer lasting pain relief from the steroid starting two to five days after the injection.
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It most often develops in people in their mid-40s or older. It's also more common in women and people with a family history of the condition. But it can occur at any age as a result of an injury or be associated with other joint-related conditions, such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis.
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Description. Illustration highlighting facet joint articulation between two vertebrae. Also known as the zygapophyseal or apophyseal joint, is a synovial joint between the superior articular process of one vertebra and the inferior articular process of the vertebra directly above it.
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RA-related inflammation in the facet joints can cause back pain. In some cases, extended inflammation can destroy the facet joints. As a result, the vertebrae become less stable. Instability in the spine can cause a vertebra to slip out of place, which usually means that the upper vertebra slides over the lower one.
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A joint connects two or more bones in your body and functions to promote motion. In your spine, the joints connecting each of your vertebrae are known as facet joints. Other names for facet joints include zygapophyseal or apophyseal joints, or your doctor may refer to them as simply facets.
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Arthritis can occur anywhere along the spine but is more frequent in the lower back and neck. Pain and stiffness are the most common symptoms of spinal arthritis. Causes of spinal arthritis are still largely unknown except for osteoarthritis, which is typically a result of wear and tear.
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['inflammation, the process that causes the redness and swelling in your joints.', 'damage to joint tissues caused by the disease process or from wear and tear.', 'muscle strain caused by overworked muscles attempting to protect your joints from painful movements.']
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There is one joint on each side (right and left). Facet joints are hinge–like and link vertebrae together. They are located at the back of the spine (posterior).