Lumbar facet-mediated pain or facet joint pain is the chronic pain in the lower back. It is caused when the facet joints in the lumbar spine (or lower back) experience inflammation, degeneration, or injury.
The facet joints’ job is to stabilize the spine, which allows us to move easily, but as we age, issues like arthritis, repetitive stress, or injuries make them painful.
If you experience a dull pain in your lower back that radiates to your thighs or groin, you may be experiencing face-mediated pain. This can make activities like standing for a long time, bending, twisting, or stretching the spine painful and challenging. But you don’t have to worry. You can improve this problem in several ways; exercises being one of them.
5 Effective Exercises for Facet-Mediated Pain
1. Child’s Pose for Stretching
Child’s pose is a yoga pose that stretches the lower back, hip, and spine. It helps relieve pressure on the facet joints.
- Begin in a tabletop position on your hands and knees.
- Then, with your big toes still touching, spread your knees a little.
- Place your hips against your heels and stretch your arms forward, bringing your chest to the ground.
- Rest your forehead down on the floor and let your back relax.
- Take deep breaths and hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
2. Pelvic Tilt for Strengthening
This exercise helps stabilize the spine, strengthen the core muscles, and decrease the strain on the facet joints.
- Lie on your back with knees bent; keep the feet flat on the floor and hip width apart.
- As you gently press your lower back into the floor, tense your abdominal muscles.
- Hold for 5-10 seconds, then release.
- Do this 10-15 times.
3. Knee-to-Chest for Stretching
Knee-to-chest helps stretch the lower back and hips, which reduces tension in the facet joints.
- Start by lying on your back, your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Bring one knee toward your chest, and wrap your hands around your shin.
- After 20 to 30 seconds of holding this position, switch legs.
- If you want a deeper stretch, bring both knees to your chest simultaneously.
4. Cat-Cow Stretch for Mobility
This exercise improves spinal mobility, relieves stiffness, and stretches the facet joints gently.
- Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position.
- Take a breath and raise your head and tailbone toward the ceiling while arching your back into cow pose.
- Exhale while you draw your belly button toward your spine, tuck your chin to your chest, and round your back (cat pose).
- Repeat for 1–2 minutes, moving slowly with your breath.
5. Bird-Dog Exercise for Strengthening and Stability
This strengthens the core, improves balance, and maintains spinal stability while reducing strain on the facet joints.
- Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position.
- Stretch one arm straight out in front of you and the other leg straight back.
- After 5–10 seconds of holding, go back to the beginning position.
- Continue on the opposite side. Try to do 10–12 reps on each side.
To avoid straining your back, always start out slowly and increase the intensity gradually. Also, make sure that you do them regularly, which means about 3 to 5 times per week. If you feel the exercises are causing you more pain, stop immediately.
These exercises can help you to a certain extent, but if the traditional treatment has not been useful to you, there are other minimally invasive ways to find relief. Treatments like facet joint medial branch nerve block, radiofrequency ablation, and decompressive lumbar spine bracing can offer great relief.
Contact Orlando Pain Solutions to know more about these minimally invasive facet-mediated pain treatments in Orlando.
