We present 4 cases of facet cyst haematoma in the ligamentum flavum of the lumbar spine. All patients presented with a one-to-3-month history of back pain or numbness in the legs, and sudden neurological deterioration. One also developed cauda equina syndrome and another developed radiculopathy. In all cases, magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass with high signal intensity on both T1- and T2...

DEGENERATIVE changes of the zygapophysial joints (facet joints) account for approximately 10–15% of the cases with chronic low back pain. Radiofrequency ablation of the medial branches of the dorsal rami is a frequently performed procedure to treat pain originating from the facet joints. The success of radiofrequency facet denervation is highly dependent on patient selection. Diagnostic blocks ...

We describe a lumbar facet syndrome in which disabling symptoms are associated with normal or nearnormal plain radiographs. Local spinal fusion relieved symptoms in 12 patients; the excised facet joint surfaces showed some of the histological changes seen in chondromalacia patellae and in osteoarthritis of other large joints. The most frequent change was focal full-thickness cartilage necrosis ...

Background: Low back pain has recently been reported as the leading cause for disability worldwide. The diagnostic value of imaging has been estimated low. Led by own positive experience, however, we hypothesized that MRI can detect signs of facet joint pain. Methods: 15 patients and 15 controls were retrospectively assessed by two readers. They compared deidentifi ed T2 weighted lumbar spine M...

Pain in the thoracic region of the spine is a common complaint, which can be as disabling as cervical and lumbar pain (Edmonston & Singer 1997). There are reports in the literature of presentations involving acute cervical ‘locked facet joints’ as well as acute lumbar ‘locked facet joints’ (Maitland 1978; Exelby 2001). Although there are a multitude of conditions that can arise from the thoraci...

2 Table of Contents Literature Review 1. Facet joint and pain 4 a) Facet joints 4 b) Cervical facet and pain 5 c) Lumbar facet and pain 7 2. Whole-body vibration and pain 8 3. Integrated stress response 8 4. Reactive oxygen species 12 5. References 13 Manuscript Introduction 20 Material and Methods 21 Results 24 Discussion 30 Conclusion 36 References 36 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express...

AIM Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is a disorder presenting with low back and groin pain. It should be taken into consideration during the preoperative differential diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis and facet syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS Four cases with sacroiliac dysfunction are presented. The clinical and radiological signs supported the evidence of sacroiliac dysf...

BACKGROUND Zygapophysial joint arthrosis is a pathology related with axial lumbar pain. The most accepted treatment, after failure of medical management, is the thermal denervation of the medial branch. Nonetheless, the placement of the heat probe remains a challenge to surgeons, even when using the fluoroscope. Using a variation of Shealy's and Bogduk's original techniques, which includes abla...