Causes
A facet syndrome is a pain syndrome caused by the fact that the small intervertebral joints of the spine (the so-called facet joints) show signs of wear and tear (the physician speaks of a “degeneration” of the joints). When the intervertebral discs wear out (which means that their fluid content decreases), this is always associated with a loss of height in the spine. As a result, the individual vertebrae move closer together, which ultimately leads to wear and tear of the small intervertebral joints.
In addition, the ligaments become looser as a result, which also causes the spine to become more unstable and the individual vertebral body segments to shift against each other. The joint capsule and the joint mucosa are also affected by this process and may lead to effusions or inflammation, for example. This corresponds to the picture of arthrosis, as it can also occur in many other joints.
In the context of this arthrosis, it is precisely at this point that inflammatory reactions of the body can regularly occur, because the facet joints are well supplied with very many small nerves. If these nerves are irritated, the typical back pain of facet syndrome occurs. However, they can also be directly pinched by the existing instabilities and thus directly damaged, resulting in the same complaints.
Most often these events are age-related. It is quite natural that the fluid content of the vertebral bodies decreases with age and thus this vertebral joint arthrosis occurs mainly in older people. However, there are also other causes for facet syndrome.
The most important causes include rheumatic diseases, herniated discs or deformations of the spine such as hyperlordosis (hollow back) or scoliosis (a lateral curvature of the spine). Finally, there are also other causes of facet syndrome which, although they are very rare, should be considered especially if no cause for the pain syndrome can be found at first. These include abscesses or tuberculosis, among others.
In addition, there are various causes that favour the development of a facet syndrome. First and foremost, there is overweight in combination with poor posture and a general lack of exercise. In overweight persons, a very high pressure is permanently on the spine, which causes the vertebral bodies to be pressed together and wear out faster.
Overloading in the sense of heavy physical work also causes signs of wear and can thus lead to a facet syndrome. Unfavorable actions here include frequent bending and lifting of objects that are too heavy, which have a particularly damaging effect on the lumbar spine. Overhead work, on the other hand, tends to promote the development of a facet syndrome of the cervical spine.
