Facet disease, the arthritic deterioration of the joints that allow the vertebrae to articulate, is often asymptomatic. However, should it produce symptoms such as back or neck pain, tingling, numbness, stiffness, or muscle weakness, you might seek information about one or more alternative treatments. This course of action typically would follow the unsuccessful employment of mainstream conservative treatments, such as pain medication, physical therapy, or behavior modification. Alternative treatment options include mind-body intervention, manipulative and body-based methods, energy therapies, and biologically based therapies.
What are Biologically Based Therapies?
When you seek relief from symptoms associated with facet disease, your choice of alternative treatments depends primarily on personal preference. Because most of the alternative treatments available lack scientific support for their efficacy, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your options.
One of those options, biologically based therapies, relies on diet therapy, herbal medicine, orthomolecular (nutrient-based) medicine, and chelation therapy (removal of certain heavy metals from the body). Biologically based therapies include:
- Herbal supplements – These are a type of dietary supplement and are also referred to by the shorthand, “botanicals.” They are plant-based supplements, often taken in the form of pills or dissolved in water. Anecdotally, some plant-based supplements are believed to have palliative effects, although the Food and Drug Administration warns against the overuse of certain types of plant.
- Homeopathy – The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines this as an alternative medical system that seeks to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself by giving it very small doses of highly diluted substances.
- Pain patches – Prescription-strength (Flector or fentanyl) or over-the-counter medicine (camphor, menthol, or a pain-killing balm) is absorbed through the skin from the interior of an adhesive patch.
When More Is Needed to Relieve Symptoms of Facet Disease
If alternative treatments prove ineffective, contact Laser Spine Institute to learn how a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure performed using revolutionary endoscopic techniques can help you rediscover your life without back and neck pain. Remember to ask us about our free MRI or CT scan review.
