Facet joints
What “facet arthropathy” and “facet hypertrophy” mean →Arthritis of the small joints at the back of the spine. What hypertrophy is describing, why it is nearly universal after middle age, and when it explains pain.Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
The small joints at the back of the spine that guide movement. Age-related wear here is very common.
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Where you'll see this
This wording turns up on Lumbar Spine MRI reports — MRI imaging of the spine. A lumbar (low-back) MRI shows the vertebrae, the cushioning discs between them, the spinal canal, and the nerves that travel to the legs. Doctors order it for low-back pain, sciatica, leg numbness or weakness, or to plan care. Importantly, many of the changes it describes are extremely common and are seen in people with no pain at all — so the report is read together with how you actually feel.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- Do the findings on the MRI match where I actually feel pain or symptoms?
- Are these changes common for my age, or is anything unusual?
- What are my non-surgical options, such as physical therapy?
- Are there any signs that would mean I should seek care sooner?
- Do I need any follow-up imaging, and when?
How common is this?
The facet joints are named on nearly every spine report. They are the small paired joints at the back of each vertebra that link it to the ones above and below, and they guide and limit how the spine moves. Like every other joint they wear with age, so degenerative change there is close to universal in older adults and is reported constantly.
When should I worry?
Facet joint arthrosis on its own is an ageing finding rather than a diagnosis, and it correlates poorly with pain. Where it becomes clinically relevant is position: the facet joints sit right next to the channels where nerve roots leave the spine, so bone overgrowth around a worn facet can narrow one. That is when a report links facet change to foraminal narrowing, and when symptoms may follow a nerve into the leg or arm. Back pain alone, with no nerve symptoms, is the far more common picture and matches the images poorly.
What happens next
The standard first line does not depend on the grade of wear: movement, physiotherapy, strengthening and pain control, which help a large share of people while the images stay identical. Where pain is thought to come specifically from a facet joint, an injection into or around it is sometimes used both to treat and to test that assumption. Surgery is reserved for nerve compression that has not settled, not for the appearance of the joints.
Frequently asked questions
- Is facet joint arthropathy serious?
- Usually not. It is wear in the small joints of the spine and is extremely common with age. It matters clinically when the associated bone overgrowth narrows a nerve’s exit channel and produces symptoms following that nerve — which the report describes separately.
- What do the facet joints do?
- They connect each vertebra to its neighbours at the back of the spine and guide how it moves, allowing bending and twisting while limiting how far. That constant load is why they wear, much like a knee or a hip.
- Can facet joint pain be treated?
- Yes, and mostly without surgery. Physiotherapy, strengthening and load management are the mainstays. Where a specific joint is suspected, an injection can be used both to relieve pain and to confirm the source, which then guides what comes next.
Other words on the same report
Where this word comes up
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