Symptoms
Articular cartilage is normally as smooth as glass and allows our body joints to glide smoothly, allowing optimal mobility. If this cartilage is now damaged, the two joint forming bone ends can no longer slide smoothly on each other. Movement is restricted and becomes very painful, especially under stress.
Surrounding muscles tense up. Relaxed postures are taken up by the pain, which, if left untreated, leads to further tension along the muscle chains, mobility decreases more and more, and the pain increases. As soon as pain occurs and the diagnosis is made, it is important to become active and intervene with the help of a physiotherapist – an insight is presented below.
Summary
The painful facet syndrome in the thoracic spine is a degenerative disease of the small vertebral joints connecting the individual vertebrae. The result is severe restriction of movement, a loss of resilience, pain and a change in posture in the sense of a relieving posture. Even if wear and tear of the vertebrae cannot be cured, there are various active and passive measures and possibilities to alleviate the unpleasant symptoms, to release tension, to increase mobility and thus the overall functionality and to restore the patient’s quality of life.The physician can also administer regular injections to support the production of synovial fluid and prevent further degradation of the cartilage surface. Only if all these measures fail, if the cartilage degradation is too advanced or if the patient does not cooperate sufficiently, surgery can be considered to relieve the pain.
