Osteoarthritis can cause breakdown of cartilage between the facet joints. The facet joints can be found in the back side of the spine.

Joints are the places where the end of one bone meets the end of another, like knees, elbows and knuckles.The facet joint consists of two opposing bony surfaces with cartilage between them and a capsule around it that produces fluid.

The combination of the cartilage and the fluid allows the joint to move with little friction. However, facet joint arthritis causes the cartilage to breakdown and the joint movement is associated with more friction. The patient loses motion and as they get stiffer they start to experience more back pain.

Here at the Ramos Center we offer a couple of different treatment options for Facet Osteoarthritis. We always want to start with the most conservative options first, such as physical therapy. Other treatments would include Facet Medial Branch block, radio frequency ablation and Stem Cell therapy.

Your physician will go over your treatment options and pick the best option for you depending on your pain type and anatomy.