Neurolog Orthop Med Surg

METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 732 patients with CMLBP who were treated between 1997 and 2007. All patients had received injections of methylprednisolone and bupivacaine into the facet joints of L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. None had tumor, infection, or major trauma causing fracture of the spine, disruption of the major ligaments of the lumbosacral spine, or cauda equina syndrome. Patients were evaluated in the recovery room before discharge, 1 week after the procedure, and until the pain recurred. Charts were reviewed to evaluate the efficacy of facet joint injection (FJI) and the relevance of the CMLBP to FJA. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were reviewed for each patient to determine the role of discopathy in the outcomes of the patients who had had FJI.