Facet Disease Treatment Specialists

Medically reviewed by Dr. David L. Greenwald, MD, FAANS, FACS — dual board-certified spine surgeon & neurosurgeon. Last reviewed October 2026.

Desert Spine and Pain diagnoses and treats facet disease — a common, highly treatable cause of chronic back and neck pain — for patients across Phoenix and the Valley. We start with the least invasive treatment that works, so most people find lasting relief without surgery.

Book a Consultation — (602) 566-9500

What Is Facet Disease?

Facet disease — also called facet joint syndrome, facet arthropathy, or simply facet joint pain — is osteoarthritis of the facet joints, the small paired joints at the back of the spine that guide its motion. Like the knee or hip, each facet joint is lined with smooth cartilage. With age, wear, or injury, that cartilage thins, the joint inflames, and the body often forms bone spurs. The result is pain, stiffness, and reduced motion — most often in the lower back or neck. Facet joints are one of the most common sources of chronic spine pain, and the condition is very treatable once the right joint is identified.

What Facet Disease Does to a Spinal Joint

Signs You May Have Facet Joint Pain

Facet pain has a recognizable pattern. You may have facet disease if your pain is:

• Localized to the lower back and buttock (lumbar facets) or the neck, shoulders, and base of the skull (cervical facets) — usually not shooting down a leg or arm.
• Worse when you lean back, stand a while, or twist, and better when you sit or bend forward.
• Stiff in the morning and after rest, loosening with gentle movement.
• Accompanied by a sense of grinding or reduced range of motion.

If pain has lasted more than a few weeks, keeps returning, or is limiting your work, sleep, or activity, it's worth getting evaluated — early diagnosis means more treatment options and a faster path to relief.

Where Facet Disease Causes Pain: Neck & Lower Back

How We Diagnose Facet Disease at Desert Spine and Pain

Imaging alone cannot prove a facet joint is the source of your pain — many people have arthritic-looking facets on an MRI with no symptoms. Pinpointing the real pain generator is what separates lasting relief from guesswork, so our diagnosis combines three steps:

• Focused examination — reproducing your pain with specific movements, especially extension and rotation.
• Imaging — X-ray, CT, or MRI to assess joint degeneration and bone spurs and to rule out other causes.
• Diagnostic medial branch block — numbing the tiny nerves that serve a suspected facet joint. If your pain drops significantly, that joint is confirmed as the source and can be targeted directly for treatment.

Because Dr. Greenwald is both a spine surgeon and a neurosurgeon, he reads your imaging with a surgeon's eye for nerve involvement — so if more than facet disease is contributing to your pain, it's identified up front, not after a treatment aimed at the wrong target.

Where the Facet Joints Sit in Your Spine

Facet Disease Treatments We Offer in Phoenix

We follow a least-invasive-first philosophy: start with the gentlest effective option and advance only if needed. The great majority of facet disease is managed without surgery.

Every treatment is designed to relieve pain and restore function; individual results vary, and we never promise a specific outcome.

What to Expect: Your Facet Disease Care Journey

Why Choose Our Facet Disease Specialist, Dr. Greenwald

Most Phoenix practices hand facet joint pain to a pain technician or an orthopedic-only provider. At Desert Spine and Pain, your care is led by a facet disease specialist who is both a board-certified spine surgeon and a neurosurgeon — a combination few surgeons in the Valley offer.

What Results Can You Expect?

Because facet disease is so treatable, most patients experience meaningful, lasting relief once the correct joint is identified and targeted. Image-guided injections and nerve blocks can calm a flare and confirm the diagnosis; radiofrequency ablation often provides many months of relief and can be repeated. Your results depend on your specific anatomy, the severity of the arthritis, and how your facet joints respond — which is exactly why we confirm the pain source before treating, rather than guessing.

Insurance, Out-of-Network & Accident Care

Facet Disease Treatment in Phoenix, AZ

Facet Disease Treatment: Frequently Asked Questions