It is a well-accepted fact that neck pain is one of the most common causes of a visit to pain specialist. Unfortunately one of the most common cause for neck pain, i.e., facet joint arthropathy hardly receives any attention.
The facet joint syndrome cannot be diagnosed consistently with currently available diagnostic methods. Most often it is a clinical diagnosis. Initial therapy should be conservative with rest, analgesics and physiotherapy. The patients who do not respond to this line of treatment should be considered for intervention. The facet joint injection or block can be performed bilaterally and at multi levels. If the diagnostic blocks yield good results then definitive therapy can be considered with radiofrequency or cryotherapy.