Facet Joint Pain?

[Gilbert P]

I am having intense pain that comes and goes with kneeling and activity?

It is like being stuck with a hot knife,( never been stuck with a hot knife ) in my left lower back. it happens fast and then goes away? With ice and rest i feel better the next day, as the day goes on It may come back or not. Depends on the activity? Walking is becoming more difficult,stairs one at a time, siting a little, Driving O.K. until I need to get out

My P.T. think that my facet joint is the one, But the pain is off to the left and lower than my surgicial site.

Does anyone also think this is facet related.

Gil

[WPKat]

I am having intense pain that comes and goes with kneeling and activity?

It is like being stuck with a hot knife,( never been stuck with a hot knife ) in my left lower back. it happens fast and then goes away? With ice and rest i feel better the next day, as the day goes on It may come back or not. Depends on the activity? Walking is becoming more difficult,stairs one at a time, siting a little, Driving O.K. until I need to get out

My P.T. think that my facet joint is the one, But the pain is off to the left and lower than my surgicial site.

Does anyone also think this is facet related.

Gil

Gil,

I updated my diagnosis just a minute ago. Due to my double ADR, I was quite pleased to be able to remove quite a few nasty pain generators from my list. Sadly, however, I am still stuck with severe bilateral facet joint arthropathy with sclerotic changes on two levels plus moderate foraminal stenosis on the right side of one level.

In my case, I am more symtomatic on my left side than my right ... usually.

Like you, I feel like a hot poker is jammed deep into my left buttock off to the side and down a bit from my posterier surgical incision ... sound familiar?

In my case, the pain is consistent, radiating from there down my entire left leg. The degree of pain, however, is without a doubt directly associated with activity. Since I started working mid-June, my pain levels have increased significantly, and I often feel like my left side is a foreign part of my body as the pain radiates from there down my entire left leg. I experience a lot of lower body cramping and leg pain as well.

It used to be that sitting was intolerable for longer than 15 minutes. Since ADR, I can sit for longer periods; unless I have worked past my limits (increasingly problematic); after that I can forget sitting, I have to stand, but I am limited there too as then my back muscles start spasming like mad.

After what I thought was a pretty tame Tai Chi class, I was in a lot of pain within 2 hours and both my knees hurt like hell. I didn't get the connection until my pain specialist turned me around in her exam room to show me a chart on facet joint pain. WOW, what a revelation! So for me, I cannot participate in anything that involves trunk rotation (standing with both feet planted and twisting my upper body) or twisting period ... no Yoga, no Tai Chi, no group fitness classes, no sweeping, no vacuuming, no mopping ... you get the idea.

The stenosis I still have on my right side manifasts periodically ... but quickly, without warning, and feels like a lightening bolt strike. Not fun!

Can anyone definitively say your pain is caused by bad facet joints? Not without an MRI or CT Myleogram, but I would go so far as to say that you still have something going on that is well worth investigating.

Knowledge is power!



K

[Santorini]

I am having intense pain that comes and goes with kneeling and activity?

It is like being stuck with a hot knife,( never been stuck with a hot knife ) in my left lower back. it happens fast and then goes away? With ice and rest i feel better the next day, as the day goes on It may come back or not. Depends on the activity? Walking is becoming more difficult,stairs one at a time, siting a little, Driving O.K. until I need to get out

My P.T. think that my facet joint is the one, But the pain is off to the left and lower than my surgicial site.

Does anyone also think this is facet related.

Gil

Gil,
Are you sure it is not your SI joint? That is exactly what happened to me and it got worse and worse with time and increased activity.

[trkdoc714]

Gil,

You're still early on in the healing process. Keep following the surgeon's and PT's plan for recovery. You might just be experiencing "normal" post surgery recovery types of pain. You and I both may have waited a bit too long before corrective surgery. The nerve damage I had from the 3 years of irritation has probably healed as much as it will. Although nagging, the discomfort doesn't warrant taking any type of pain meds, not even aspirin.

Take it easy and heal well,

Bob

[Gilbert P]

Hi

Thanks for the information, I have been feeling better, thanks to my P.T. and she said it is my SI joint from weakened muscles due to three years of back issues. Now working more on strength and core.
Also I am taking tylonol for pain etc, it seems to help a little

If I could drive to Colorado, my surgeon would do more test, Some day I will make it?

Thanks

Gil

[Justin]

Hey Gil,

Your initial description sounded more like SI joint pain. I'm glad that your PT is giving you exercises to strengthen the area. Also, I remember reading pretty extensive degeneration of your lumbar spine pre-operatively that included facet degeneration / hypertrophy. You might, in fact, have multiple pain generators since you have long-standing degenerative changes of your spine.

I hope PT helps and I hope there are more "ups" than "downs" in the days to come.

Hi

Thanks for the information, I have been feeling better, thanks to my P.T. and she said it is my SI joint from weakened muscles due to three years of back issues. Now working more on strength and core.
Also I am taking tylonol for pain etc, it seems to help a little

If I could drive to Colorado, my surgeon would do more test, Some day I will make it?

Thanks

Gil