Principles & Practice of Pain Medicine > Part IV. Pain by Anatomic Location > B. Spine > Chapter 29. Facet Syndrome Alicja Soczewko Steiner and Daniel P. Gray

Facet Syndrome: Introduction

"More than 60% of people in developed countries will experience spinal pain at some time in their lives. Back pain is the most common complaint of patients referred to pain clinics. The pain is nonspecific in about 85% of the cases, and onset of symptoms is most often between the ages of 35 and 55 years. According to some sources, 15% to 45% of all adults experience lower back pain, and 1 in 20 people present with a new episode annually. Back pain absorbs approximately 40% of the cost of workers' compensation, which was estimated as $24 billion in 1990 and is considerably higher today...."