The facet joints are a pair of joints in the posterior aspect of the spine. Facet Syndrome is caused by injury to the cartilage in the joints such as through an accident, over-use or arthritis of the spine. Another cause is when a vertebra slips in relation to adjacent vertebra.
Symptoms include pain in the affected area and are usually localized to the specific facet joint in question. Pain related to facet disease can diagnosed by either a complete physical exam or a diagnostic facet injection. A diagnostic facet injection is when a numbing medication is injected into the facet joint. If the pain ceases then it means that the facet joint is responsible for the pain and not a surrounding area.