Facet joints

Looks like

Small paired joints at the back of each vertebra, where the bony knobs of one vertebra overlap the next like roof tiles.

What it does

Guide and limit how each level of the spine bends and twists, and share the load with the discs.

Keeping it well

Wear with age is common and often painless. Back pain that shoots below the knee, or comes with numbness in the groin, needs a doctor.

Related conditions

• Axial spondyloarthritis
• Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
• Gout
• Haemophilia & bleeding disorders
• Lyme disease
• Marfan syndrome & connective tissue disorders
• Osteoarthritis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Scoliosis
• Spina bifida & neural tube defects
• Spinal cord injury
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Temporomandibular joint disorder