Therapeutic injection of facet joints is now widely practised, but British experience has been infrequently reported. We studied the results of injecting facet joints with a corticosteroid preparation in 50 patients suffering from the “facet syndrome”. Our series included a number of exfra-articular injections and these “failed injections” provide a useful control group. Results indicate that o...

ii To Jameson and my parents iii We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot. Eleanor Roosevelt iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I want to thank my advisor Dr. Nicole Grosland. I would not be where I am without her guidance early in my college career. The insight and encouragement provided th...

It is surprising that about 24% of patients with benign osteoporotic vertebral fracture die within a year from respiratory infection and urinary tract infection because of coughing and voiding difficulties, depending on the sites of compression fractures. We reviewed 500 patients on whom percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) was performed, at 612 levels in terms of patient selection, operation tech...

The aim of the present study was to assess prospectively patients' response to facet joint injection performed for lumbar back pain, and to check if it correlates with the response predicted by the Helbig and Lee scoring system. Fifty-seven patients who had facet joint injections for mechanical low back pain unresponsive to medical treatment, were followed-up. Patients' perception of improvemen...

BACKGROUND Imaging results are frequently considered as hallmarks of disease by spine surgeons to plan their future treatment strategy. Numerous classification systems have been proposed to quantify or grade lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and thus objectify imaging findings. The clinical impact of the measured parameters remains, however, unclear. To evaluate the pathological sig...

STUDY DESIGN A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical effectiveness of therapeutic local anesthetic cervical medial branch blocks with or without steroid in managing chronic neck pain of facet joint origin. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The prevalence of persistent neck pain, secondary to involvement of cervical facet or zygapophysial joints, has been d...