I Didn't Even Know I Have Facets!

As it turns out, everybody has facets. No; not the kind diamonds and precious stones have and this is not a fancy way of referring to other "sides" of my personality. Uh uh. They are on the bones of the spine where the bones are joined. So it is a common name for that part -- usually referred to as a facet joint. I didn't know that!


The idea came up after Dr L observed the results of the second epidural he gave me. Unintentionally, I have become a bit of a challenging patient. See, I find it difficult to clearly remember the level of the pain, the location of the pain, my activity / diet / mood prior to the onset of the pain when Dr L asks me about it. {Okay; so I am exaggerating -- he doesn't ask about food or mood -- I was just trying to make it easier to make an excuse for forgetting.} But he really asks for details.

And he is tricky too!

After a few questions in a row, he'll ask another question which is almost the same as an earlier question but phrased a bit differently. When my answers haven't been consistent, he reminds me of my earlier answer and asks me which is more correct. Aiy!

It's not that I am trying to mislead him; not at all. It's just a challenge to recall the specific details he is asking. The good thing is that he is diligent and eventually gets me to feel I have remembered and confident that I am giving him the best information I possibly can. And from what I describe about the location of the pain, he believes arthritis in my facet joints could be causing the nerves to get irritated. Check the illustration above -- it shows exactly what he's talking about. [Click the picture to go to Hastings Chiropractic where I found the illustration. They have lots more information on facet joints and the way they are known to be involved in back pain]


There you go... Isn't that just interesting?! Well, it is to me and as long as it helps us make progress with this next injection -- Count me in! Probably the insurance company will provide written pre-certification and we can go for it again sometime next week.

Keep your fingers crossed & drop me a line (comment) so I know you're out there pulling for me!

- Mark