I don't know if this will be clear, but here goes....
The facet joints have corresponding sliding surfaces. I think that in my case, going into extreme flexion may push the facets to the point where there is so little surface area taking the load that pain and inflammation are caused by high pressure on a small portion of the joint. A step further would be to temporarily subluxate (or dislocate) the joint.
I took the pictures below of a Charite' model that I have. On the left would be a neutral position. On the right is the joint with the facets with the facets spread to the point where they barely overlap. This is my theory... I may be full of BS, but both of my episodes were brought on by extreme flexion... both were extremely painful for days. The first one blew over completely in about 4 or 5 days. I'm 7 into this one and it's much better now than a few days ago, but it still sucks. I'll bet that in a few days it will be gone.
All the best,
Mark
