Revealed: Degenerative Spinal Conditions: Synovial Cysts
Individuals with degenerative spinal conditions often suffer with pain. One occurrence that can enhance this pain is synovial cysts. A synovial cyst is a fluid filled sac that develops in the facet joints of the lumbar spine as a result of spinal degeneration. Depending on the size, these cysts can cause spinal stenosis.
Synovial cysts get their name from their association with synovium. Synovium is a thin film of tissue whose purpose is to lubricate the joints. When the facet joints, which are in the lumbar spine, begin to degenerate this fluid is likely to build up in order to protect the joint. In some cases, small amounts of this fluid escape. While remaining in the synovium they create a sac-like protrusion. This, in return, develops the cyst. These cysts generally cause no pressure. However, they can cause lower back pain which may travel down the legs. Sitting often helps alleviate this pain. It's believed that the pain may stem from the blood around the nerves being unable to drain which causes irritation to the nerves involved. This may explain why sitting reduces the pain as it allows the blood to drain more freely and decreases the pressure built around the nerves.
|
|
Treatment for synovial cysts depends a great deal on the amount of pain and dysfunction it causes. If discomfort is minimal and pain can be relieved by switching positions, no medical treatment may be recommended by your doctor. However, if the pain is difficult to tolerate and daily functions are meant with some restriction, treatment will be warranted. A facet injection may be one course of action. It has two purposes. The first is to drain the cyst by aspirating it through the facet joint. The second is to inject the joint with a steroid to reduce the inflammation which is likely to be causing much of the symptoms. An epidural steroid injection is more commonly used. It simply injects a steroid into the epidural space. Neither is all that reliable but it's within reason to try them because surgery may be your only other option. Surgical methods involve either decompression or spine fusion. A decompression technique is used only if no instability is associated with the cyst. However, with this type of surgery the cyst may return. Fusing the joint is the only way to prevent this. The medical field is consistently making progress.
Thus, before committing to surgery be sure to discuss all your options with your doctor.
| 
