Cervical facet joint syndrome can be a painful condition, affecting your mobility and day-to-day life.
If you are suffering from this syndrome, you will be keen to find a gentle yet effective way to relieve pain and restore movement.
We will take a closer look at cervical facet joint syndrome in this article and how manual osteopathy can help relieve symptoms.
What is cervical facet joint syndrome?
The joints in your spine that connect your vertebrae are called “facet joints”.
Your cervical facet joints are those located in the upper portion of your spine, in the region of your neck, and enable your neck to move forwards and backwards.
Cervical facet joint syndrome refers to pain and loss of mobility related to these joints.
Causes of cervical facet joint syndrome
Sometimes cervical facet joint syndrome is due to ageing or wear and tear.
But it’s more usually associated with trauma such as whiplash injury, which can happen during a car accident or a sporting injury.
It can also be linked to other conditions, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
Cervical facet joint syndrome symptoms
Cervical facet joint syndrome can cause the following symptoms:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Restricted movement, for example, difficulty moving your head
- Headaches
Cervical facet joint syndrome treatment
Conservative treatment is usually recommended at the outset for cervical facet joint syndrome — this means avoiding invasive treatment like surgery.
Your doctor may recommend taking anti-inflammatory medication, making lifestyle changes like losing weight, or suggesting other non-invasive therapies like massage.
If conservative treatment doesn’t work for you, your doctor may suggest other techniques like steroid injections in your joints or radiofrequency ablation, where heat is used to destroy nerve tissue. This stops it from sending pain signals to the brain.
What about manual osteopathy — how can that help?
Manual osteopathy uses gentle hands-on techniques and non-invasive therapies to treat a wide range of conditions which cause pain or mobility issues.
These include cervical facet joint syndrome. Your manual osteopath can devise a treatment plan that may involve hands-on treatment to gently manipulate your joints and release pain, as well as other non-invasive techniques to stimulate the body’s healing processes.
Rest assured that manual osteopathy is a safe and effective treatment for cervical facet joint syndrome.
Know more about manual osteopathy for cervical facet joint syndrome
It’s great to know that if you have cervical facet joint syndrome, there are non-invasive options like manual osteopathy to help relieve its symptoms.
Find out more about how we can help you by calling us at 403-814-0404 or book an appointment online at osteohealthcalgary.janeapp.com
Our manual osteopathy team is here to listen to your symptoms and work out a safe and effective treatment plan… tailored specially to you!
Approved by Indira Ravaeva. Manual Osteopath. Member of National Manual Osteopathic Society and Osteopathy Australia.
- Health Central website. ‘What Is Facet Joint Syndrome?’, November 2, 2022. https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/spinal-disorders/facet-joint-syndrome
- National Library of Medicine website. ‘Facet Joint Disease’, November 16, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541049/
- Blackberry Clinic website. ‘Cervical Facet Joint Syndrome’, March 20, 2012 https://www.blackberryclinic.co.uk/articles/cervical-facet-joint-syndrome/
- Cleveland Clinic website. ‘Radiofrequency Ablation for Pain Management’, March 14, 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17411-radiofrequency-ablation