ReviewPain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain2025
7. Cervical facet pain: Degenerative alterations and whiplash-associated disorder.
Review in Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Subfailure capsule strain as the cause of cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash: a scoping review.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation of Cervical Nerves for Treating Cervicogenic Headache.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Review
- Assessment of real-world, prospective outcomes in patients treated with cervical radiofrequency ablation for chronic pain (RAPID).Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- 7. Cervical facet pain: Degenerative alterations and whiplash-associated disorder.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Review
- Outcomes Of Intraarticular Corticosteroid Injections into the Cervical Facet Joint Based on Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionPain from the cervical facet joints, either due to degenerative conditions or due to whiplash-related trauma, is very common in the general population. Here, we provide an overview of the literature on the diagnosis and treatment of cervical facet-related pain with special emphasis on interventional treatment techniques.
methodsA literature search on the diagnosis and treatment of cervical facet joint pain and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) was performed using PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases. All relevant literature was retrieved and summarized.
resultsFacet-related pain is typically diagnosed based on history and physical examination of the patients, combined with a diagnostic block (eg, with local anesthetic) of the medial branches innervating the joints. There is no additive value for imaging techniques to diagnose cervical facet pain, but imaging may be used for procedure planning. First-line therapy for pain treatment includes focused exercise, graded activity, and range-of-motion training. Pharmacological treatment may be considered for acute facet joint pain; however, for chronic facet joint pain, evidence for pharmacological treatment is lacking. Considering the lack of evidence for treatment with botulinum toxin, intra-articular steroid injections, or surgery, these interventions are not recommended. Diagnostic blocks are not considered a viable treatment option, though some patients may experience a prolonged analgesic effect. Long-term analgesia (>6 months) has been observed for radiofrequency treatment of the medial branches.
conclusionsCervical facet pain is diagnosed based on history, physical examination, and a diagnostic block of the medial branches innervating the painful joints. Conservative management, including exercise therapy, is the first line of treatment. When conservative management does not result in adequate improvement of pain, radiofrequency treatment of the medial branches should be considered, which often results in adequate pain relief.
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