[annapurna]

People have had ADR with mild to moderate facet damage and had that damage halt, and sometimes even reverse to a degree, due to the improvements of the mechanics of the spine when the failed disk was replaced with an ADR. At the moderate arthrosis level, if you take the number of complaints vs. praise as a reasonable predictor of your odds, you're probably more likely to stay level or have your facets continue degenerate albeit much slower. At the mild level, you're probably more likely to stay level or improve.

You can also seek post-ADR conservative care routes to increase the likelihood of facet improvement. A lot of those options end up being snake oil but there are some that seem to help a large fraction of those who try them.

I would continue to pursue ADR and do it aggressively so that you can get to a decision point before your facets degenerate too much further. Once you get to a surgeon you trust to perform the ADR, have the conversation about our facets and know what you're getting into. Don't delay in getting to that conversation, though, or your facets will degenerate and you'll have the decision made for you.

It's also worth pointing out that, if things go bad and you end up with a fusion, people have used ADRs to bracket a fusion and halted the adjacent segment problems inherent with a fusion. No, it isn't a great option but simply getting a fusion isn't a guarantee of cascading degeneration in your later years.