Facet Joint Neck Pain: Symptoms & Treatment

Hello readers! We hope you’ve had an enjoyable Christmas and sent 2024 off with the bang it deserved.

We’re kicking things off with a blog about neck pain relating to small joints in our neck, known as facet joints.

Are you waking up to 2025 with pain in your neck? You might have had one too many sleeps in the armchair over the festive period. Maybe the exercise dropped off a bit as the focus changed to family get-togethers and binging in front of the TV after an exhausting year.

Never fear, we’ve got your back (oops… we mean neck!).

What are facet joints?

Facet joints are small joints in your spine. They are formed between bony parts of two adjacent vertebrae.

With a few exceptions, you can find a pair of facet joints at each level of the spine. There is one on the left and one on the right.

These joints, along with the disc connection between vertebrae, are responsible for allowing and restricting movements of the spine. This depends on which region of the spine you are looking at.

For example, the facet joints in the neck are orientated to allow a relatively wide range of motion in all planes of movement.

This includes flexion and extension, rotation, and side-bending (lateral flexion).

When we look over our shoulder to check our blind spot in the car, we are mainly using movement in our neck to get there.

If you move to the low back region of the spinal column, the facet joints are orientated in a slightly different way. They allow plenty of flexion and extension, but minimal rotation.

This allows us to bend our bodies forwards and backwards easily.

What is a facet lock?

A facet lock is a facet joint that is ‘locked’ or severely restricted in movement.

This type of joint is what we call a synovial joint. It is held together by a joint capsule and is filled with a lubricating fluid, known as synovial fluid.

A facet joint tends to lock when it has been overloaded with excessive forces.

This tends to occur over time and with a ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ moment. However, it can also happen following a quick jerking movement of the neck.

A sudden large force can be placed upon the joints. Sometimes, this can be too much for them to bear.

The tissue around the joints may then stiffen and go into spasm. This includes the overlying muscles which drive the movement.

As a result, you are left with a neck that can be extremely painful to move.

Signs and symptoms

The signs and symptoms of a facet lock in the neck include:

• Neck pain
• Restricted neck movement
• Restricted mid-back and shoulder movement
• Headache, particularly if neck movement is not restored following injury
• Difficulty checking your blind spot whilst driving
• Difficulty looking or reaching up to a kitchen cupboard

If you cannot turn your neck properly, we strongly suggest that you do NOT get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

We recommend coming to see us sooner rather than later, particularly when inflammation is fresh and everything is really restricted.

How is a facet lock diagnosed?

It is sometimes difficult to reach a 100% accurate diagnosis on the first session.

However, after careful questioning and consideration of your medical history, the majority of the time we can come to a solid working diagnosis.

If we cannot, and we feel something else is going on, we may refer you on for a second opinion or for imaging.

Nine times out of ten, with a simple facet lock there aren’t any serious signs and symptoms which will make us question our course of action.

Treatment

A locked, compressed and inflamed facet joint may respond to some traction of the neck.

Traction techniques separate the joint surfaces. This allows for movement of fluid and may help the area to settle.

If you are super locked up and restricted, traction and careful neck mobilisations may be all we’re able to do in the early stages.

We’ll also cast an eye over the areas above and below the injury site to see what’s going on there. We can then treat those areas accordingly.

Restoring movement in a non-painful area away from the injury site is commonly part of the treatment approach.

Following treatment, some people may experience a change in their pain and movement.

Over the next few sessions, we may build on this and work towards improving function in your neck.

Recovery time varies between individuals. It also depends on a range of factors, including the nature of the injury, your symptoms, activity levels and how you respond to treatment and exercise.

These time periods are rough estimates. They also depend on whether you do your homework with exercise.

Living well and avoiding potentially aggravating activities for a short time may also form part of your recovery plan.

Looking after your neck

Injuries like these are usually the result of many years of poor movement.

For this reason, we encourage you to look long-term with your treatment goals.

Injuries that take years to build up will not be undone in a few weeks.

Neck pain?

Neck pain? Call us today on 9846 2800 to book an appointment.