Mysterious Back Pain After Car Accident: Facet Joint Injuries
Updated February 17, 2025
Facet joints help bind the spinal column together. Damage to these tiny joints along the spinal column can cause intense, lingering neck and back pain.
Because they are so small, facet joints are difficult to spot on a scan, so a sufferer’s pain is often ignored. This can leave some injured victims, especially those who are younger, feeling like “it’s all in their head” even though the pain is very real.
Getting the correct diagnosis, therefore, is vital to quickly treat and alleviate facet joint pain. And if the facet joint injuries were caused by a car accident or other serious event, it may be possible to claim compensation for any necessary medical treatment.
Facet Joint Anatomy
The spine is made up of many vertebral segments. Each bone segment consists of a large disc and two facet joints protruding out to either side. This creates a tripod effect as each vertebra is stacked on top of one another. Discs cushion the main segment while facet joints connect the exterior segments. This allows for controlled movement and flexibility in the spine, such as bending and twisting. When these joints become injured, the pain can be debilitating, affecting a person’s daily life.
How Facet Joints Can Be Damaged
Also known as facet joint syndrome or facet arthropathy, the cartilage protecting the joint breaks down and becomes inflamed. Pain signals triggered by nearby nerve endings can cause significant back and neck discomfort.
A facet joint injury may be caused by:
- Bending backward
- Twisting or jerking sideways
- Repetitive movements
- Whiplash
- Car accident
- Sports injury
- Falling
- Heavy lifting
- Cartilage degeneration
During a car accident, especially in rear-end collisions or crashes that involve rapid deceleration, the body experiences a sudden, forceful motion. The force from the impact can jolt the spine, causing compression, hyperextension, or torsion that leads to damage to the facet joints.
Whiplash
A common injury in rear-end collisions, whiplash occurs when the head is suddenly forced forward and then backward. This rapid motion can put excessive strain on the neck and upper back, injuring the facet joints in the cervical spine.
Compression
In high-impact crashes, the sudden force can lead to compression of the spine, putting pressure on the facet joints and potentially causing them to deteriorate or become misaligned.
Torsion
If the body is twisted or rotated in an awkward way during the crash, the facet joints may be subjected to twisting forces that cause them to become strained or injured.
How Common Are Facet Joint Injuries?
Studies suggest that facet joint injuries are relatively common after car accidents, particularly in those who experience whiplash. In fact, research shows that approximately 20-40% of people involved in motor vehicle collisions experience facet joint injuries, especially when there is a whiplash component. These injuries can be difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms often mimic other types of spinal problems.
Facet Joint Injury Symptoms
An injury to a facet joint can place uneven pressure along the spine. This accelerates the wear and tear of the joint, causing the smooth, flexible cartilage caps to become rough and irritated.
Symptoms of a facet injury or degeneration include:
- Chronic or recurring pain
- Muscle stiffness and spasms
- A dull ache in the low back and buttocks, or shoulders and back of the head
- Arm or leg pain
- Headaches
- Ringing in ears
- Pain in the bottom, hips, groin, or thighs
- Discomfort leaning backward
Facet injury symptoms depend on where the damage occurred.
Cervical facet joint pain is typically felt in the region at the base of the head, neck, upper back, shoulders, and mid-back. Lumbar facet syndrome is also quite common since the lower back often bears the brunt of motion and weight of the upper body.
A doctor who specializes in diagnosing spinal conditions, such as a physiatrist, should examine someone who may be suffering from facet joint pain. Facet injury symptoms can mimic disc herniation injuries, so a careful examination is required. The treating physician will likely order an X-ray, CT, MRI, or bone scan to help diagnose the problem.
Treatment for Facet Joint Injuries
Facet joint injuries can range from mild sprains to severe degeneration, and the treatment options vary accordingly. Exercise, lifestyle changes, proper posture, weight loss, physical therapy, medication, and careful management of your back pain can increase your quality of life. If conservative treatments fail to alleviate or control pain, a doctor may recommend injections, ablations, or surgery.
Conservative Treatments
Initially, doctors will often try conservative treatment options for facet joint injuries. These may include:
- Physical therapy: Strengthening the muscles around the spine can reduce strain on the facet joints.
- Pain medications: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help reduce pain and inflammation.
- Heat and cold therapy: Applying heat or ice to the affected area can help reduce swelling and ease pain.
Steroid Joint Injections
This is a minimally invasive procedure where corticosteroid medications and numbing agents are injected directly into the painful joint to reduce swelling and inflammation around the nerves. The benefit of facet injections is often immediate, providing relief within 2-3 days. Pain relief will usually last several weeks to several months. Physical therapy and lifestyle changes afterward can improve the condition as well. Should the pain return, the facet joint injection procedure can be repeated.
Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a minimally invasive procedure, may be the next step if pain still flares up frequently after a steroid joint injection. During an ablation procedure, radiofrequency waves are used to heat the nerve tissue around the facet’s joint capsule, effectively “burning” the nerve and interrupting pain signals. A nerve block test is used to determine which nerves need to be treated. An anesthetic is also injected to help block the pain.
This treatment can provide longer-lasting relief than injections, with many patients experiencing pain relief for 6 to 12 months or even longer. Some studies have shown that up to 70% of patients experience significant pain reduction after radiofrequency ablation. It is important to note that RFA does not cure the underlying injury but helps manage the symptoms.
Spinal Fusion Surgery
In cases where facet joint injuries cause chronic pain and other treatments fail to provide lasting relief, spinal fusion surgery may be considered. This type of surgery is typically recommended when there is nerve root compression from enlarged facet joints, degenerative disc disease, or spinal instability. This procedure involves fusing two or more vertebrae in the affected area of the spine, keeping the damaged facet joints from moving and causing pain.
While spinal fusion can be highly effective at reducing pain, it also involves a longer recovery time and potential risks such as nerve damage or complications from surgery.
Compensation for Facet Joint Injuries
If your facet joints were damaged due to a motor vehicle accident, a work incident, or someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the person or company responsible. Filing a claim for personal injury means all necessary medical treatment for your face joint pain is covered by the defendant’s insurance.
Medical treatment for facet joint injuries and pain can take months or years. Patients must undergo steroid injections and ablations. Physical rehabilitation, time off from work, and an altered lifestyle may be needed to recover fully.
All of these treatment costs, lost wages, and other damages from the accident should not be the responsibility of the victim.
However, the insurance companies will try to do everything in their power to get out of paying these bills if they can. To ensure fair and just compensation for your facet joint injury treatment, consult an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Getting Legal Help for Facet Joint Injuries
Facet joint injuries rarely heal on their own, leaving the victim with chronic or recurring pain. Whether your injury was caused by being rear-ended or lifting a heavy object the wrong way while on the job, you deserve to have your medical treatment covered by the insurance company.
Your pain is real. Gary Martin Hays & Associates help victims navigate the complex legal and medical processes involved in securing compensation for their injuries in the following ways:
- Gathering evidence: To prove that the accident caused the facet joint injury, we gather medical records, accident reports, and expert testimony.
- Negotiating with insurance companies: Insurance companies may try to minimize payouts for facet joint injuries, but our law firm ensures you are fairly compensated for medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering.
- Filing a lawsuit: If a fair settlement cannot be reached, we can file a lawsuit to hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions.
- Helping with medical treatment: We work with medical professionals to ensure that the right treatment plan is followed and that you receive the appropriate care.
If you or a loved one has sustained a facet joint injury, our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you navigate the legal process and secure the compensation necessary for your recovery.
Talk to our Atlanta personal injury attorneys today for a free evaluation of your case. We take spinal pain, back pain, neck pain and other injuries caused by others’ negligence and auto accidents seriously.
(770) 934-8000
Further Reading
Find a location near you