Abstract: The cervical facet joints are formed by the articulations of the superior and inferior articular facets of adjacent vertebrae. Each facet joint receives innervation from two spinal levels. Each joint receives fibers from the dorsal ramus at the same level as the vertebra as well as fibers from the dorsal ramus of the vertebra above. This fact has clinical import in that it provides an explanation for the ill-defined nature of facet-mediated pain and also explains why the dorsal nerve from the vertebra above the offending level often must also be blocked to provide complete pain relief. At each level, the dorsal ramus provides a medial branch that wraps around the convexity of the articular pillar of its respective vertebra. This location is constant for the C4-C7 nerves and allows a simplified approach to treatment of cervical facet syndrome. Cervical facet block using the medial branch technique is useful in the diagnosis and treatment of painful conditions involving trauma, arthritis, or inflammation of the cervical facet joints.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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