Facet joints are small joints located at the back of the spinal bones that make up the spinal canal and provide the movements of the spine. Disturbances in the facet joints can cause severe neck, back and low back pain.
This type of pain occurs mostly as a result of calcifications in the facet joints in advanced ages. However, it can cause serious problems at young ages in those who work in heavy jobs, who are hit by an accident or fall, in those with reduced disc height between the vertebrae, or in cases of unbalanced load bearing.
Pain from the facet joints can radiate from the lumbar region to the hip, back of the knee and upper leg. The most confused table is herniated disc pain. Herniated disc pain can be felt along the affected leg up to the tips of the toes and is usually exacerbated by leaning forward.
Pain caused by the facet joints, on the other hand, is exacerbated by the backward leaning movement of the waist or the rotational movements of the waist to the right and left. The same problem can occur in the neck region and cause pain radiating to the back of the head, neck area, shoulders and arms.
Interventional treatment methods such as facet joint injections and RADIOFREQUENCY DENERVATION, which is based on the elimination of pain transmission of specialized nerves carrying the pain sensation of facet joints, are applied in the treatment of pain originating from facet joints. All these treatments are performed in germ-free operating room conditions and accompanied by radiological imaging. The patient is placed in the prone position. The intervention area is wiped with a solution to get rid of germs. The areas of the joints that cause pain are marked with radiological imaging. Local anesthetic drug is applied to the marked areas and the intervention area is anesthetized. By placing a special cannula on the targeted joint areas, the nerves of the joints causing the pain are detected. Then, high-frequency radio waves are sent to the area to remove the nerve conduction. After the intervention, the patient is kept under observation for 1-2 hours. He is then sent home on foot.
The biggest advantage of these treatments, which are performed with the closed method, is that they are administered with local anesthesia without the need for narcosis, and patients can go home on foot without the need for hospitalization after the intervention.
