Facet joints or creaking spinal hinges - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

PsychLea · 10-24-2003, 08:20 PM

Hi guys

Been working too much to be on the computer, but WR, before you get on my case

, I am enjoying a 5 day weekend and a 4 day weekend next week!

How many have problems with their facet joints? I have been doing okay with keeping the pain undercontrol, until I went and had my hair cut. After flexing my neck over the shampoo bowl, I have been in agony all night, but hey! my hair looks great

I have my epi this Monday and I don't think they are giving me any sedation. Not too happy about that, but hopefully this new PM will be more skilled than my last witchdoctor!

Wish me luck. Thought I would check in quickly.

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God bless,

Lea

C4-5 noncompressive disc displacement
C5-6 compressive disc displacement
C6-7 broad based disc protrusion encroaching on the anterioposterior aspect of the spinal canal.
DDD
ACDF C6-7 5/13/03 with titanium plate,4 screws, and no collar postop.
New MRI 8/25/03
C5-6 posterior annular bulge, now with spurring,canal stenosis, and foraminal stenosis

KeithEugeneW · 10-25-2003, 08:41 AM

Hi Lea,

How can you tell for sure if it's the facet joints, because I'm getting to believe that is where most of my pain is coming from. I'm pushing for some facet joint injections to help determine that, but are there some basic simple ways you can tell? I'm stiff and extremely sore all the time, and have limited side to side movement of any kind (turning my head or laying it side to side). I can move it forward and back all the way, but it is painful towards the end. When I lean my head back it always sounds like gravel rumbling and crackling around, same when moving or bending side to side. I have severe DDD and arthritis, plus the 2 discs protruding into the spinal canal C5-6 and C6-7, contacting but not compressing the spinal cord. I used to get a lot of numbness and weakness in my right arm and hand, but now that only comes and goes, most of the time that's not there or a major problem. I think the disc has disintegrated enough to take the pressure off the nerve roots, explaining that change. But the constant and most painful part is that stiffness and soreness constantly from between my shoulder blades up to my skull. Knock on wood, the migraines have ceased for the last several weeks, they seem to come and go as well. If the facet joint injections will help with this nagging pain and stiffness, I'll be the happiest guy on earth. I'm at my wits end trying to live like this, I can't enjoy much of anything anymore, can't even stand or sit in one positon for very long without becoming greatly uncomfortable and having to move. Sitting through mandatory classes for work are like a torture sentence, I could just stand up and scream sometimes! A wise person once coined an insightful phrase: "Getting Old Sucks!".

Keith

PsychLea · 10-25-2003, 10:46 PM

Keith,

I'm sorry you are continuing to have so many problems. My PM palpated my joints and that is how he found out where the problem was. He "knuckled" me directly on the vertebrae, then on the sides. When he hit the sides, I doubled over with pain. On my neck, the pain is more one sided to the left. My lumbar area has an extremely bad area around the L5. I was surprised at how easily the pain was triggered by a simple finger poke.

My PM said the DDD was definetly in my lower spine as well, and said I would need intervention in that are very soon."It's inevitable" he said.

He thinks the epi's might work now, since the disc herniation is gone, except I still have that darn HNP above the opsite.

Have you asked your doc about the facet joints as a source of your pain?

------------------
God bless,

Lea

C4-5 noncompressive disc displacement
C5-6 compressive disc displacement
C6-7 broad based disc protrusion encroaching on the anterioposterior aspect of the spinal canal.
DDD
ACDF C6-7 5/13/03 with titanium plate,4 screws, and no collar postop.
New MRI 8/25/03
C5-6 posterior annular bulge, now with spurring,canal stenosis, and foraminal stenosis

KeithEugeneW · 10-26-2003, 07:26 AM

Thanks Lea. The PM doc I see now said he hasn't had a lot of success with facet joint blocks, but he didn't really go into much discussion on how to determine whether or not mine were the source of the problem. I've got a call into my ortho surgeon (he's on vacation last week), asking him his opinion about whether a lot of my pain could be facet joint related, and if so, would the facet joint injections help me based on what he knows of my situation with the x-rays and MRIs. I hope to hear something back this week. The pain, for most people to be able to understand what I'm saying, is like if you went out and got wet, then fell asleep on a cold night then woke up with your neck really stiff and so sore you could barely move it around. I know I have some serious muscle spasms and the cortisone shots into the muscles have helped some with that, but there's a lot more pain going on than just muscle spasms.