Chiropractic
May 2, 2023

Facet Joints and Back Pain: Here’s What You Need to Know

Dr. Ben Dyer
by
Dr. Ben Dyer

The facet joints are like the “knuckes” of your spine that enable it to glide, slide and stabilise.

When there’s a dysfunction in one or more of your facet joints, you might feel a sharp pain in your back when moving or pain in your neck or back that you could pinpoint with your finger.

They both give your spine more flexibility, enabling you to bend and twist your back, and they also prevent you from "overdoing" any of those movements (i.e., hyperextending or hyper flexing).

Being able to move freely depends greatly on your facet joints working properly, so if you’re looking for information about facet joints and low back pain, you've come to the correct place!

What you need to know is as follows.

Why it Matters

Our facet joints—often our lumbar facet joints—take on the additional load as our spinal discs deteriorate with age.

Furthermore, too much pressure and tension can wear them out.

This can result in the formation of adhesions, bone spurs, and discomfort, all of which can restrict our range of motion.

To relieve discomfort and restore normal motion, targeted spinal adjustments can help break up adhesions in and around your lumbar facet joints, cervical facet joints, and the other joints in your spine.

To recap, here’s what we know…

  • Your spine's facet joints allow you to bend and twist your body by swiveling and gliding.
  • In our facet joints, adhesions can form with age and limit how well we can move.
  • The facets' surrounding adhesions are broken up with regular chiropractic adjustments, allowing you to move more freely and comfortably.

Chiropractic Care for Lumbar Facet Joint Pain Treatment

Numerous studies have supported the use of chiropractic care for the treatment of adhesions and pain affecting the lumbar facet joints, and being aware of the findings of these studies can help you determine whether or not facet joint pain treatment in Hong Kong is appropriate for you.

The following fundamental terms will come in handy when you examine any such studies:

  • Another name for the facet joints is "Z" (zygapophyseal) joints.
  • SMT (spinal manipulative therapy) is another name for chiropractic treatment and adjustments.  
  • "Gapping" describes the physical adjustment or mobilization of the joints.

In a recent study, researchers aimed to understand the effects that spinal manipulative treatment might have on adhesions and discomfort in the lower back.

In order to assess chiropractic care's efficacy as a facet joint pain treatment option, researchers looked into how adjustments to the spine might affect adhesions around the lumbar facet joints and any associated low back pain.

The researchers found that after getting chiropractic care, research participants reported experiencing less discomfort and improved movement.

The same has been seen in individuals undergoing treatment for facet joint pain in Hong Kong at our chiropractic studio.

Such outcomes highlight the rationale behind conservative therapies, such as chiropractic, to address lower back and facet joint pain.

Next Steps:

Your spine's facet joints, whether we're talking about the cervical or lumbar facet joints, are made to move.

After all, exercise is medicine!

Movement maintains the health of the facet joints and may possibly decrease the ageing process.

It has been shown that spinal adjustments can lessen adhesions in these joints and others, allowing you to move more freely and comfortably. And when you move better, you feel better.

Therefore, if you've been dealing with back pain and you live in Hong Kong, our caring team is available to provide chiropractic care for facet joint pain.

Book a consultation now or download our e-books for tips on how to relieve headaches and lower back pain.

Science Source:

Facet Joints. Physiopedia. 2022. Joint Changes Following Spinal Manipulation. JMPT. 2013.

References

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