If you’ve recently been diagnosed with facet syndrome, don’t worry about surgery just yet – many people with the condition are able to manage their symptoms with a completely nonsurgical treatment plan. Finding the combination of therapies that’s best for your needs may take a bit of trial and error, but it’s likely that various medications, exercises and other conservative, nonsurgical approaches will be able to provide you with the relief you need.

Traditional treatments for facet disease

You’ll want to discuss each of your treatment options with your physician, but common conservative treatments your physician might recommend include:

1. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications
2. Prescription narcotics
3. Physical therapy
4. At-home stretching and strengthening exercises
5. Hot packs/cold packs (or a combination of both)

Complementary and alternative therapies

Some people also choose to explore complementary and alternative therapies alongside conventional treatments. These options can help alleviate pain, reduce stress and enhance the benefits of other, traditional facet syndrome treatments. Such options include:

1. Yoga
2. Acupuncture
3. Therapeutic massage
4. Herbal supplements
5. Chiropractic care

With some many options available, many people are able to find a routine that works well enough that they do not require facet syndrome surgery. Others are able to use such treatments to delay their need for surgery for several months or years.

From time to time, however, these therapies don’t produce the desired results, even after months of treatment. It’s a big step to go from conservative therapies to facet syndrome surgery, although it can be the right option for certain individuals.

At USA Spine Care, we offer several surgical options. The minimally invasive procedures that we offer for patients with facet syndrome have shorter recovery times and lower infection rates than traditional open spine operations and are performed on an outpatient basis. And, because our procedures are performed using advanced, muscle-sparing techniques, they often cause less scarring than open neck and back surgeries.

If you’re wondering if you’re a candidate for minimally invasive, outpatient facet syndrome surgery at USA Spine Care, contact us today to receive an MRI review at no cost.*

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