Facet joint pain-advances in patient selection and treatment

Nature Reviews Rheumatology

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 2013, Pages 101-116

  Cohen, Steven P ^a   Y Huang, Julie H ^a   Brummett, Chad ^b  

^a JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BUPIVACAINE; HYALURONIC ACID; HYALURONIDASE; STEROID;

ARTHRALGIA; CERVICAL SPINE; CHRONIC PAIN; CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT; DENERVATION; DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY; DISEASE ASSOCIATION; FALSE NEGATIVE RESULT; FALSE POSITIVE RESULT; HUMAN; INTERMETHOD COMPARISON; LOW BACK PAIN; LUMBAR SPINE; MEDICAL DECISION MAKING; MEDICAL HISTORY; NERVE BLOCK; NEURITIS; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; OUTCOME ASSESSMENT; PARESTHESIA; PATIENT SELECTION; PHYSICAL EXAMINATION; PREDICTIVE VALUE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROGNOSIS; RADIOFREQUENCY DENERVATION; REVIEW; SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY; SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY; SPINE DISEASE; SPINE FUSION; SPINE INJURY; SPONDYLOSIS; THORACIC SPINE; TREATMENT RESPONSE; YOGA;

ARTHRALGIA; CATHETER ABLATION; DENERVATION; DISEASE MANAGEMENT; HUMANS; INJECTIONS, INTRA-ARTICULAR; PATIENT SELECTION; STEROIDS; TREATMENT OUTCOME; ZYGAPOPHYSEAL JOINT;

EID: 84873408918     PISSN: 17594790     EISSN: 17594804     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/nrrheum.2012.198     Document Type: Review

References (162)

1. Goldthwaite, J. E. The lumbosacral articulation: an explanation of many cases of lumbago, sciatica, and paraplegia. Boston Med. Surg. 164, 365-372 (1911).
2. Woolf, A. D. & Pfleger, B. Burden of Major Musculoskeletal Conditions. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81, 646-656 (2003).
3. Manchikanti, L. The growth of interventional pain management in the new millennium: a critical analysis of utilization in the Medicare population. Pain Physician 7, 465-482 (2004).
4. Simopoulos, T. T. et al. A systematic evaluation of prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of sacroiliac joint interventions. Pain Physician 15, E305-E344 (2012).
5. Cohen, S. P. & Raja, S. N. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of lumbar zygapophysial (facet) joint pain. Anesthesiology 106, 591-614 (2007).
6. Manchikanti, L. et al. Prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 5, 15 (2004).
7. van Eerd, M. et al. 5. Cervical facet pain. Pain Pract. 10, 113-123 (2010).
8. Barnsley, L., Lord, S. M., Wallis, B. J. & Bogduk, N. The prevalence of chronic cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 20, 20-25; discussion 26 (1995).
9. Lord, S. M., Barnsley, L., Wallis, B. J., McDonald, G. J. & Bogduk, N. Percutaneous radio-frequency neurotomy for chronic cervical zygapophyseal-joint pain. N. Engl. J. Med. 335, 1721-1726 (1996).
10. Brummett, C. M. & Clauw, D. J. Fibromyalgia: a primer for the anesthesia community. Curr. Opin. Anaesthesiol. 24, 532-539 (2011).
11. Laslett, M., McDonald, B., Aprill, C. N., Tropp, H. & Oberg, B. Clinical predictors of screening lumbar zygapophyseal joint blocks: development of clinical prediction rules. Spine J. 6, 370-379 (2006).
12. Revel, M. et al. Capacity of the clinical picture to characterize low back pain relieved by facet joint anesthesia. Proposed criteria to identify patients with painful facet joints. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 23, 1972-1976; discussion 1977 (1998).
13. Revel, M. E. et al. Facet joint block for low back pain: identifying predictors of a good response. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 73, 824-828 (1992).
14. Laplante, B. L., Ketchum, J. M., Saullo, T. R. & DePalma, M. J. Multivariable analysis of the relationship between pain referral patterns and the source of chronic low back pain. Pain Physician 15, 171-178 (2012).
15. Manchikanti, L., Manchikanti, K. N., Cash, K. A., Singh, V. & Giordano, J. Age-related prevalence of facet-joint involvement in chronic neck and low back pain. Pain Physician 11, 67-75 (2008).
16. Schwarzer, A. C., Wang, S. C., Bogduk, N., McNaught, P. J. & Laurent, R. Prevalence and clinical features of lumbar zygapophysial joint pain: a study in an Australian population with chronic low back pain. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 54, 100-106 (1995).
17. Suri, P. et al. Does lumbar spinal degeneration begin with the anterior structures? A study of the observed epidemiology in a community-based population. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 12, 202 (2011).
18. Schwarzer, A. C. et al. Clinical features of patients with pain stemming from the lumbar zygapophysial joints. Is the lumbar facet syndrome a clinical entity? Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 19, 1132-1137 (1994).
19. King, W., Lau, P., Lees, R. & Bogduk, N. The validity of manual examination in assessing patients with neck pain. Spine J. 7, 22-26 (2007).
20. Manchikanti, L., Pampati, V., Fellows, B. & Baha, A. G. The inability of the clinical picture to characterize pain from facet joints. Pain Physician 3, 158-166 (2000).
21. Dworkin, R. H. et al. Core outcome measures for chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. Pain 113, 9-19 (2005).
22. Di Franco, M. et al. Misdiagnosis in fibromyalgia: a multicentre study. Clin. Exp. Rheumatol. 29, S104-S108 (2011).
23. Phillips, K. & Clauw, D. J. Central pain mechanisms in chronic pain states-maybe it is all in their head. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol. 25, 141-154 (2011).
24. Hassett, A. L. et al. Longitudinal assessment of pain outcomes in the clinical setting: development of the "APOLO" electronic data capture system. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 37, 398-402 (2012).
25. Cohen, S. P. et al. Clinical predictors of success and failure for lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Clin. J. Pain 23, 45-52 (2007).
26. Cohen, S. P. et al. Factors predicting success and failure for cervical facet radiofrequency denervation: a multi-center analysis. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 32, 495-503 (2007).
27. Helbig, T. & Lee, C. K. The lumbar facet syndrome. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 13, 61-64 (1988).
28. Fukui, S. et al. Referred pain distribution of the cervical zygapophyseal joints and cervical dorsal rami. Pain 68, 79-83 (1996).
29. Fukui, S. et al. Distribution of referred pain from the lumbar zygapophyseal joints and dorsal rami. Clin. J. Pain 13, 303-307 (1997).
30. Dreyfuss, P., Tibiletti, C. & Dreyer, S. J. Thoracic zygapophyseal joint pain patterns. A study in normal volunteers. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 19, 807-811 (1994).
31. McCall, I. W., Park, W. M. & O'Brien, J. P. Induced pain referral from posterior lumbar elements in normal subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 4, 441-446 (1979).
32. Suokas, A. K. et al. Quantitative sensory testing in painful osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 20, 1075-1085 (2012).
33. Fujiwara, A. et al. The relationship between facet joint osteoarthritis and disc degeneration of the lumbar spine: an MRI study. Eur. Spine J. 8, 396-401 (1999).
34. Butler, D., Trafimow, J. H., Andersson, G. B., McNeill, T. W. & Huckman, M. S. Discs degenerate before facets. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 15, 111-113 (1990).
35. Matsumoto, M. et al. MRI of cervical intervertebral discs in asymptomatic subjects. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 80, 19-24 (1998).
36. Weishaupt, D., Zanetti, M., Hodler, J. & Boos, N. MR imaging of the lumbar spine: prevalence of intervertebral disk extrusion and sequestration, nerve root compression, end plate abnormalities, and osteoarthritis of the facet joints in asymptomatic volunteers. Radiology 209, 661-666 (1998).
37. Wood, K. B., Garvey, T. A., Gundry, C. & Heithoff, K. B. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine. Evaluation of asymptomatic individuals. J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 77, 1631-1638 (1995).
38. Schwarzer, A. C. et al. The ability of computed tomography to identify a painful zygapophysial joint in patients with chronic low back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 20, 907-912 (1995).
39. Dolan, A. L. et al. The value of SPECT scans in identifying back pain likely to benefit from facet joint injection. Br. J. Rheumatol. 35, 1269-1273 (1996).
40. Koh, W. U. et al. Value of bone scintigraphy and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in lumbar facet disease and prediction of short-term outcome of ultrasound guided medial branch block with bone SPECT. Korean J. Pain 24, 81-86 (2011).
41. Ackerman, W. E. 3rd & Ahmad, M. Pain relief with intraarticular or medial branch nerve blocks in patients with positive lumbar facet joint SPECT imaging: a 12-week outcome study. South. Med. J. 101, 931-934 (2008).
42. Gamie, S. & El-Maghraby, T. The role of PET/CT in evaluation of facet and disc abnormalities in patients with low back pain using 18F-fluoride. Nucl. Med. Rev. Cent. East. Eur. 11, 17-21 (2008).
43. Stojanovic, M. P. et al. MRI analysis of the lumbar spine: can it predict response to diagnostic and therapeutic facet procedures? Clin. J. Pain 26, 110-115 (2010).
44. Cohen, S. P. & Hurley, R. W. The ability of diagnostic spinal injections to predict surgical outcomes. Anesth. Analg. 105, 1756-1775 (2007).
45. Bogduk, N. International Spinal Injection Society guidelines for the performance of spinal injection procedures. Part 1: Zygapophysial joint blocks. Clin. J. Pain 13, 285-302 (1997).
46. Dreyfuss, P. H., Dreyer, S. J. & NASS. Lumbar zygapophysial (facet) joint injections. Spine J. 3 (Suppl. 3), 50S-59S (2003).
47. Sowa, G. Facet-mediated pain. Dis. Mon. 51, 18-33 (2005).
48. Nash, T. P. Facet joints-intra-articular steroids or nerve blocks? The Pain Clinic 3, 77-82 (1990).
49. Marks, R. C., Houston, T. & Thulbourne, T. Facet joint injection and facet nerve block: a randomised comparison in 86 patients with chronic low back pain. Pain 49, 325-328 (1992).
50. Kaplan, M., Dreyfuss, P., Halbrook, B. & Bogduk, N. The ability of lumbar medial branch blocks to anesthetize the zygapophysial joint. A physiologic challenge. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 23, 1847-1852 (1998).
51. Leclaire, R., Fortin, L., Lambert, R., Bergeron, Y. M. & Rossignol, M. Radiofrequency facet joint denervation in the treatment of low back pain: a placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess efficacy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 26, 1411-1416; discussion 1417 (2001).
52. Gallagher, J. et al. Radiofrequency facet joint denervation in the treatment of low back pain: a prospective controlled double-blind study to assess its efficacy. Pain Clinic 7, 193-198 (1994).
53. van Wijk, R. M. et al. Radiofrequency denervation of lumbar facet joints in the treatment of chronic low back pain: a randomized, double-blind, sham lesion-controlled trial. Clin. J. Pain 21, 335-344 (2005).
54. van Kleef, M. et al. Randomized trial of radiofrequency lumbar facet denervation for chronic low back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 24, 1937-1942 (1999).
55. Nath, S., Nath, C. A. & Pettersson, K. Percutaneous lumbar zygapophysial (Facet) joint neurotomy using radiofrequency current, in the management of chronic low back pain: a randomized double-blind trial. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 33, 1291-1297; discussion 1298 (2008).
56. Tekin, I., Mirzai, H., Ok, G., Erbuyun, K. & Vatansever, D. A comparison of conventional and pulsed radiofrequency denervation in the treatment of chronic facet joint pain. Clin. J. Pain 23, 524-529 (2007).
57. Manchikanti, L., Pampati, V., Fellows, B. & Bakhit, C. E. Prevalence of lumbar facet joint pain in chronic low back pain. Pain Physician 2, 59-64 (1999).
58. Dreyfuss, P. et al. Efficacy and validity of radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 25, 1270-1277 (2000).
59. Manchikanti, L., Singh, V., Pampati, V., Beyer, C. D. & Damron, K. S. Evaluation of the prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic thoracic pain. Pain Physician 5, 354-359 (2002).
60. Falco, F. J. et al. Systematic review of diagnostic utility and therapeutic effectiveness of cervical facet joint interventions. Pain Physician 12, 323-344 (2009).
61. Manchikanti, L. et al. Comparative effectiveness of a one-year follow-up of thoracic medial branch blocks in management of chronic thoracic pain: a randomized, double-blind active controlled trial. Pain Physician 13, 535-548 (2010).
62. Manchikanti, L., Singh, V., Falco, F. J., Cash, K. A. & Fellows, B. Comparative outcomes of a 2-year follow-up of cervical medial branch blocks in management of chronic neck pain: a randomized, double-blind controlled trial. Pain Physician 13, 437-450 (2010).
63. Lord, S. M., Barnsley, L. & Bogduk, N. The utility of comparative local anesthetic blocks versus placebo-controlled blocks for the diagnosis of cervical zygapophysial joint pain. Clin. J. Pain 11, 208-213 (1995).
64. Ackerman, W. E., Munir, M. A., Zhang, J. M. & Ghaleb, A. Are diagnostic lumbar facet injections influenced by pain of muscular origin? Pain Pract. 4, 286-291 (2004).
65. Kaptchuk, T. J. et al. Sham device v inert pill: randomised controlled trial of two placebo treatments. BMJ 332, 391-397 (2006).
66. Cohen, S. P., Mullings, R. & Abdi, S. The pharmacologic treatment of muscle pain. Anesthesiology 101, 495-526 (2004).
67. Cucuzzella, T. R. et al. A survey: conscious sedation with epidural and zygapophyseal injections: is it necessary? Spine J. 6, 364-369 (2006).
68. Manchikanti, L. et al. A randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the effect of sedation on diagnostic validity of cervical facet joint pain. Pain Physician 7, 301-309 (2004).
69. Manchikanti, L. et al. Evaluation of the effect of sedation as a confounding factor in the diagnostic validity of lumbar facet joint pain: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation. Pain Physician 7, 411-417 (2004).
70. Stojanovic, M. P., Dey, D., Hord, E. D., Zhou, Y. & Cohen, S. P. A prospective crossover comparison study of the single-needle and multiple-needle techniques for facet-joint medial branch block. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 30, 484-490 (2005).
71. Dreyfuss, P., Schwarzer, A. C., Lau, P. & Bogduk, N. Specificity of lumbar medial branch and L5 dorsal ramus blocks. A computed tomography study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 22, 895-902 (1997).
72. Cohen, S. P. et al. Randomized study assessing the accuracy of cervical facet joint nerve (medial branch) blocks using different injectate volumes. Anesthesiology 112, 144-152 (2010).
73. Verrills, P. et al. The incidence of intravascular penetration in medial branch blocks: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 33, E174-E177 (2008).
74. Lee, C. J. et al. Intravascular injection in lumbar medial branch block: a prospective evaluation of 1433 injections. Anesth. Analg. 106, 1274-1278 (2008).
75. Datta, S., Lee, M., Falco, F. J., Bryce, D. A. & Hayek, S. M. Systematic assessment of diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic utility of lumbar facet joint interventions. Pain Physician 12, 437-460 (2009).
76. Bogduk, N. Evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with facet injections and radiofrequency neurotomy. Spine J. 8, 56-64 (2008).
77. Koshi, E. B. & Short, C. A. Placebo theory and its implications for research and clinical practice: a review of the recent literature. Pain Pract. 7, 4-20 (2007).
78. Cohen, S. P. et al. Multicenter, randomized, comparative cost-effectiveness study comparing 0, 1, and 2 diagnostic medial branch (facet joint nerve) block treatment paradigms before lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Anesthesiology 113, 395-405 (2010).
79. Bogduk, N. & Holmes, S. Controlled zygapophysial joint blocks: the travesty of cost-effectiveness. Pain Med. 1, 24-34 (2000).
80. Sanders, M. & Zuurmond, W. W. Percutaneous intra-articular lumbar facet joint denervation in the treatment of low back pain: a comparison with percutaneous extra-articular lumbar facet denervation. Pain Clinic 11, 329-335 (1999).
81. Kroll, H. R. et al. A randomized, double-blind, prospective study comparing the efficacy of continuous versus pulsed radiofrequency in the treatment of lumbar facet syndrome. J. Clin. Anesth. 20, 534-537 (2008).
82. Peh, W. Image-guided facet joint injection. Biomed. Imaging Interv. J. 7, e4 (2011).
83. Igarashi, A., Kikuchi, S. & Konno, S. Correlation between inflammatory cytokines released from the lumbar facet joint tissue and symptoms in degenerative lumbar spinal disorders. J. Orthop. Sci. 12, 154-160 (2007).
84. Cohen, S. P. et al. Outcome predictors for sacroiliac joint (lateral branch) radiofrequency denervation. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 34, 206-214 (2009).
85. Cohen, S. P. et al. Lumbar zygapophysial (facet) joint radiofrequency denervation success as a function of pain relief during diagnostic medial branch blocks: a multicenter analysis. Spine J. 8, 498-504 (2008).
86. Cohen, S. P. et al. Establishing an optimal "cutoff" threshold for diagnostic lumbar facet blocks: a prospective correlational study. Clin. J. Pain http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0b013e31825f53bf.
87. Williams, K. A. et al. A multi-center analysis evaluating factors associated with spinal cord stimulation outcome in chronic pain patients. Pain Med. 12, 1142-1153 (2011).
88. Huang, J. H. et al. Occipital nerve pulsed radiofrequency treatment: a multi-center study evaluating predictors of outcome. Pain Med. 13, 489-497 (2012).
89. Farrar, J. T., Young, J. P., Jr, LaMoreaux, L., Werth, J. L. & Poole, R. M. Clinical importance of changes in chronic pain intensity measured on an 11-point numerical pain rating scale. Pain 94, 149-158 (2001).
90. Salaffi, F., Stancati, A., Silvestri, C. A., Ciapetti, A. & Grassi, W. Minimal clinically important changes in chronic musculoskeletal pain intensity measured on a numerical rating scale. Eur. J. Pain 8, 283-291 (2004).
91. Seed, S. M., Dunican, K. C. & Lynch, A. M. Osteoarthritis: a review of treatment options. Geriatrics 64, 20-29 (2009).
92. White, A. P., Arnold, P. M., Norvell, D. C., Ecker, E. & Fehlings, M. G. Pharmacologic management of chronic low back pain: synthesis of the evidence. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 36, S131-S143 (2011).
93. Morlion, B. Pharmacotherapy of low back pain: targeting nociceptive and neuropathic pain components. Curr. Med. Res. Opin. 27, 11-33 (2011).
94. Martell, B. A. et al. Systematic review: opioid treatment for chronic back pain: prevalence, efficacy, and association with addiction. Ann. Intern. Med. 146, 116-127 (2007).
95. Schofferman, J. & Mazanec, D. Evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with opioid analgesics. Spine J. 8, 185-194 (2008).
96. Cohen, S. P., Argoff, C. E. & Carragee, E. J. Management of low back pain. BMJ 337, a2718 (2008).
97. Borenstein, D. G. & Korn, S. Efficacy of a low-dose regimen of cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride in acute skeletal muscle spasm: results of two placebo-controlled trials. Clin. Ther. 25, 1056-1073 (2003).
98. Furlan, A. D. et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and safety of selected complementary and alternative medicine for neck and low-back pain. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2012, Article ID 953139, doi:10.1155/2012/953139.
99. Chou, R. Low back pain (chronic). Clin. Evid. (Online) 2010, 1116 (2010).
100. Vickers, A. J. et al. Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis. Arch. Intern. Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed. 2012.3654
101. Gross, A. et al. Patient education for neck pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 3, Art. No.: CD005106 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ 14651858.CD005106.pub4.
102. Sihawong, R., Janwantanakul, P., Sitthipornvorakul, E. & Pensri, P. Exercise therapy for office workers with nonspecific neck pain: a systematic review. J. Manipulative Physiol. Ther. 34, 62-71 (2011).
103. Bronfort, G. et al. Supervised exercise, spinal manipulation, and home exercise for chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial. Spine J. 11, 585-598 (2011).
104. Morone, G. et al. Quality of life improved by multidisciplinary back school program in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain: a single blind randomized controlled trial. Eur. J. Phys. Rehabil. Med. 47, 533-541 (2011).
105. Posadzki, P. & Ernst, E. Yoga for low back pain: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Clin. Rheumatol. 30, 1257-1262 (2011).
106. Leaver, A. M., Refshauge, K. M., Maher, C. G. & McAuley, J. H. Conservative interventions provide short-term relief for non-specific neck pain: a systematic review. J. Physiother. 56, 73-85 (2010).
107. Slipman, C. W. et al. A critical review of the evidence for the use of zygapophysial injections and radiofrequency denervation in the treatment of low back pain. Spine J. 3, 310-316 (2003).
108. Roy, D. F., Fleury, J., Fontaine, S. B. & Dussault, R. G. Clinical evaluation of cervical facet joint infiltration. Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 39, 118-120 (1988).
109. Hove, B. & Gyldensted, C. Cervical analgesic facet joint arthrography. Neuroradiology 32, 456-459 (1990).
110. Barnsley, L., Lord, S. M., Wallis, B. J. & Bogduk, N. Lack of effect of intraarticular corticosteroids for chronic pain in the cervical zygapophyseal joints. N. Engl. J. Med. 330, 1047-1050 (1994).
111. Lilius, G., Laasonen, E. M., Myllynen, P., Harilainen, A. & Gronlund, G. Lumbar facet joint syndrome. A randomised clinical trial. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 71, 681-684 (1989).
112. Carette, S. et al. A controlled trial of corticosteroid injections into facet joints for chronic low back pain. N. Engl. J. Med. 325, 1002-1007 (1991).
113. Egsmose, C., Lund, B. & Bach Andersen, R. Hip joint distension in osteoarthrosis. A triple-blind controlled study comparing the effect of intra-articular indoprofen with placebo. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 13, 238-242 (1984).
114. Pneumaticos, S. G., Chatziioannou, S. N., Hipp, J. A., Moore, W. H. & Esses, S. I. Low back pain: prediction of short-term outcome of facet joint injection with bone scintigraphy. Radiology 238, 693-698 (2006).
115. Fuchs, S., Erbe, T., Fischer, H. L. & Tibesku, C. O. Intraarticular hyaluronic acid versus glucocorticoid injections for nonradicular pain in the lumbar spine. J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol. 16, 1493-1498 (2005).
116. Manchikanti, L., Singh, V., Falco, F. J., Cash,K. A. & Pampati, V. Lumbar facet joint nerve blocks in managing chronic facet joint pain: one-year follow-up of a randomized, double-blind controlled trial: Clinical Trial NCT00355914. Pain Physician. 11, 121-132 (2008).
117. Maigne, J. Y., Maigne, R. & Guerin-Surville, H. The lumbar mamillo-accessory foramen: a study of 203 lumbosacral spines. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 13, 29-32 (1991).
118. Shealy, C. N. Percutaneous radiofrequency denervation of spinal facets. Treatment for chronic back pain and sciatica. J. Neurosurg. 43, 448-451 (1975).
119. Silvers, H. R. Lumbar percutaneous facet rhizotomy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 15, 36-40 (1990).
120. Kornick, C., Kramarich, S. S., Lamer, T. J. & Todd Sitzman, B. Complications of lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 29, 1352-1354 (2004).
121. Stovner, L. J., Kolstad, F. & Helde, G. Radiofrequency denervation of facet joints C2-C6 in cervicogenic headache: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. Cephalalgia 24, 821-830 (2004).
122. Chua, W. H. & Bogduk, N. The surgical anatomy of thoracic facet denervation. Acta Neurochir. (Wien) 136, 140-144 (1995).
123. Standring, S. (Ed.) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice 730-773 (Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 2008).
124. Ishizuka, K., Sakai, H., Tsuzuki, N. & Nagashima, M. Topographic anatomy of the posterior ramus of thoracic spinal nerve and surrounding structures. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) (2012).
125. Tzaan, W. C. & Tasker, R. R. Percutaeous radiofrequency facet rhizotomy-experience with 118 procdedures and reappraisal of its value. Can. J. Neurol. Sci. 27, 125-130 (2000).
126. Speldewinde, G. C. Outcomes of percutaneous zygapophysial and sacroiliac joint neurotomy in a community setting. Pain Med. 12, 209-218 (2011).
127. Stolker, R. J., Vervest, A. C. & Groen, G. J. Percutaneous facet denervation in chronic thoracic spinal pain. Acta Neurochir. (Wien) 122, 82-90 (1993).
128. van Kleef, M. et al. 12. Pain originating from the lumbar facet joints. Pain Pract. 10, 459-469 (2010).
129. Chou, R., Atlas, S. J., Stanos, S. P. & Rosenquist, R. W. Nonsurgical interventional therapies for low back pain: a review of the evidence for an American Pain Society clinical practice guideline. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 34, 1078-1093 (2009).
130. Bogduk, N. & Long, D. M. Percutaneous lumbar medial branch neurotomy: a modification of facet denervation. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 5, 193-200 (1980).
131. Flay, B. R. et al. Standards of evidence: criteria for efficacy, effectiveness and dissemination. Prev. Sci. 6, 151-175 (2005).
132. Schofferman, J. & Kine, G. Effectiveness of repeated radiofrequency neurotomy for lumbar facet pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 29, 2471-2473 (2004).
133. Husted, D. S., Orton, D., Schofferman, J. & Kine, G. Effectiveness of repeated radiofrequency neurotomy for cervical facet joint pain. J. Spinal Disord. Tech. 21, 406-408 (2008).
134. Barnsley, L. Percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic neck pain: outcomes in a series of consecutive patients. Pain Med. 6, 282-286 (2005).
135. Linton, S. J. A review of psychological risk factors in back and neck pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 25, 1148-1156 (2000).
136. Rasmussen, C., Leboeuf-Yde, C., Hestbaek, L. & Manniche, C. Poor outcome in patients with spine-related leg or arm pain who are involved in compensation claims: a prospective study of patients in the secondary care sector. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 37, 462-468 (2008).
137. Wilkens, P., Scheel, I. B., Grundnes, O., Hellum, C. & Storheim, K. Prognostic factors of prolonged disability in patients with chronic low back pain and lumbar degeneration in primary care: a cohort study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0b013e318263bb7b
138. Depalma, M. J., Ketchum, J. M., Trussell, B. S., Saullo, T. R. & Slipman, C. W. Does the location of low back pain predict its source? PM R. 3, 33-39 (2011).
139. Ianuzzi, A. et al. Human lumbar facet joint capsule strains: I. During physiological motions. Spine J. 4, 141-152 (2004).
140. Streitberger, K., Muller, T., Eichenberger, U., Trelle, S. & Curatolo, M. Factors determining the success of radiofrequency denervation in lumbar facet joint pain: a prospective study. Eur. Spine J. 20, 2160-2165 (2011).
141. Lord, S. M., Barnsley, L. & Bogduk, N. Percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy in the treatment of cervical zygapophysial joint pain: a caution. Neurosurgery 36, 732-739 (1995).
142. Govind, J., King, W., Bailey, B. & Bogduk, N. Radiofrequency neurotomy for the treatment of third occipital headache. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 74, 88-93 (2003).
143. Dobrogowski, J., Wrzosek, A. & Wordliczek, J. Radiofrequency denervation with or without addition of pentoxifylline or methylprednisolone for chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain. Pharmacol. Rep. 57, 475-480 (2005).
144. Taylor, A. M., Osikowicz, M. & Ribeiro-da-Silva, A. Consequences of the ablation of nonpeptidergic afferents in an animal model of trigeminal neuropathic pain. Pain 153, 1311-1319 (2012).
145. Alcock, E., Regaard, A. & Browne, J. Facet joint injection: a rare form cause of epidural abscess formation. Pain 103, 209-210 (2003).
146. Katz, S. S. & Savitz, M. H. Percutaneous radiofrequency rhizotomy of the lumbar facets. Mt Sinai J. Med. 53, 523-525 (1986).
147. Gibson, J. N. & Waddell, G. Surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylosis: updated Cochrane Review. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 30, 2312-2320 (2005).
148. Jackson, R. P. The facet syndrome. Myth or reality? Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 279, 110-121 (1992).
149. Esses, S. I., Botsford, D. J. & Kostuik, J. P. The role of external spinal skeletal fixation in the assessment of low-back disorders. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 14, 594-601 (1989).
150. Esses, S. I. & Moro, J. K. The value of facet joint blocks in patient selection for lumbar fusion. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 18, 185-190 (1993).
151. Seo, M. & Choi, D. Adjacent segment disease after fusion for cervical spondylosis; myth or reality? Br. J. Neurosurg. 22, 195-199 (2008).
152. Lund, T. & Oxland, T. R. Adjacent level disk disease-is it really a fusion disease? Orthop. Clin. North Am. 42, 529-41 (2011).
153. Manchikanti, L., Manchikanti, K. N., Pampati, V., Brandon, D. E. & Giordano, J. The prevalence of facet-joint-related chronic neck pain in postsurgical and nonpostsurgical patients: a comparative evaluation. Pain Pract. 8, 5-10 (2008).
154. Manchikanti, L., Manchukonda, R., Pampati, V., Damron, K. S. & McManus, C. D. Prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic low back pain in postsurgical patients by controlled comparative local anesthetic blocks. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 88, 449-455 (2007).
155. Lynch, M. C. & Taylor, J. F. Facet joint injection for low back pain. A clinical study. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 68, 138-141 (1986).
156. Jadad, A. R. et al. Assessing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials: is blinding necessary? Control. Clin. Trials 17, 1-12 (1996).
157. King, J. S. & Lagger, R. Sciatica viewed as a referred pain syndrome. Surg. Neurol. 5, 46-50 (1976).
158. Geurts, J. W., van Wijk, R. M., Stolker, R. J. & Groen, G. J. Efficacy of radiofrequency procedures for the treatment of spinal pain: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 26, 394-400 (2001).
159. Lau, P., Mercer, S., Govind, J. & Bogduk, N. The surgical anatomy of lumbar medial branch neurotomy (facet denervation). Pain Med. 5, 289-298 (2004).
160. Provenzano, D. A., Lassila, H. C. & Somers, D. The effect of fluid injection on lesion size during radiofrequency treatment. Reg. Anesth. Pain Med. 35, 338-342 (2010).
161. Cohen, S. P. et al. Randomized placebo-controlled study evaluating lateral branch radiofrequency denervation for sacroiliac joint pain. Anesthesiology 109, 279-288 (2008).
162. Cosman, E. R. Jr & Gonzalez, C. D. Bipolar radiofrequency lesion geometry: implications for palisade treatment of sacroiliac joint pain. Pain Pract. 11, 3-22 (2011).