Does the Weishaupt Facet Grading System Affect Healing in Facet Joint Blockage?

Abstract

Introduction: Lower back pain is one of the most common complaints in the general population, with approximately 25% of the population experiencing lower back pain at least once in life. Of these individuals, approximately, 10% seek medical help. Facet-origin pathologies are one of the most important causes of lower back and hip pain. Methods: Therefore, in cases not responding to medical treatment, facet joint blockages are used as an effective method. In this study, a retrospective examination was made of the results of facet joint blockages applied in our clinic between July 2013 and August 2018 to 175 cases thought to have facet-origin lower back pain. The patients were evaluated with the Weishaupt score before the procedure and with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) values before and after the procedure. Results: The VAS scores decreased from 7.4±0.6 preoperatively to 4.1±0.7 postoperatively in Grade 1 patients, from 7.6±0.7 to 3.8±0.6 in Grade 2 patients and from 7.5±0.7 to 3.7±0.7 in Grade 3 patients. In all three groups, the difference between pre- and post-operative values was determined to be statistically significant (p0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: Facet joint blockage was seen to provide a significant improvement in patients with the complaint of lumbago and increased comfort, but there was not determined to be any significant importance of the facet joint grade before blockage and there was no effect on the treatment outcome.