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Facet Disease—What to do When Conservative Treatment is Not Enough
Treatment for facet disease, like many spinal conditions, generally begins with conservative methods such as physical therapy, rest, exercise and pain medication. The goal is to manage the symptoms, which can include localized pain, loss of flexibility, inflammation, muscle spasms or muscle stiffness. However, in some cases the degeneration of cartilage between the facet joints—the joints where the vertebrae meet—is so severe conservative treatment simply is not enough to manage the debilitating pain and loss of function.
When facet disease threatens to rob you of your very way of life, even after weeks or months of conservative treatment, what then? Surgery is an option, but the idea of spending months and perhaps years in rehabilitation after traditional open-back surgery may be nearly as daunting as the thought of living the rest of your life with the symptoms associated with facet disease. Fortunately, you may have an alternative. Let the medical professionals at Laser Spine Institute (LSI) review your MRI or CT scan at no charge, to determine whether you are a candidate for a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure. The award-winning surgeons at LSI use an endoscopic technique to treat the symptoms of facet disease. One extremely effective procedure available at LSI is facet thermal ablation, in which a laser is used to clean the facet joint and deaden the associated nerves. The procedure usually takes less than an hour, and because it is performed on an outpatient basis, no hospital stay is required.
Contact Laser Spine Institute to find out how we can help when conservative treatment is just not enough for facet disease.