The spine is made up of many facet joints designed to allow the body to  bend and twist the neck and back.  Good facet joint health is linked to body strength, flexibility and range of motion.

The most common cause of neck pain after an accident is a facet joint injury which can result in neurological damage.  The facet joint can become dislocated and be accompanied by soft tissue swelling, tearing of ligaments, nerve compression and disruption of blood supply.

Facet Joint Injury Symptoms

A delay in the diagnosis of facet joint injury occurs 40% of the time because it is initially diagnosed as a soft tissue injury because facet joint injuries do not appear on x-rays or MRIs.  The neck and lower back sustain most of the facet joint injury.

Cervical (neck) facet joint injury symptoms include:

• sleep apnea
• dizziness
• shoulder and upper back pain
• neck pain
• headaches

Lumbar (lower back) facet injury symptoms include:

• pain radiating in hips, thighs, groin and buttocks
• low back pain

Causes of Facet Joint Injury

Most facet joint injuries occur in car accidents, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents and slip and fall injuries.

Facet Joint Injury Treatments

Treatments of facet joint injuries include conservative care options:

• Physical therapy
• chiropractic
• Back brace or restraining collar brace
• cervical traction
• injections

Aggressive treatments include:

• Spinal fusion
• Radiofrequency Neurotomy (RFN)

We welcome your call today at 952-361-5556 (or fill out the free Case Evaluation Form) to help you through the legal issues of your Facet Joint Injury case.

Attorneys Practicing In This Area

Benjamin Tarshish

Kyle Kosieracki