Role of Facet Joints in Spine Pain and Image-Guided Treatment: A Review

SUMMARY: Chronic low back and neck pain remain prevalent medical concerns, with much debate regarding the effective evaluation and treatment. Facet disease has been implicated as a source of axial nonradiating low back pain. We discuss patient evaluation, the role of imaging, current and emerging image-guided therapies for facet-related pain, and the increasing importance of outcome-related research in this arena.