1-

• Contact Laser Spine Institute
• Request MRI Review
• Medical Spine Seminar

You are here

• Home
• »
• Spine Conditions
• »
• Discogenic Articles
• »
• Discogenic Injury

Discogenic Injury

Discogenic injury refers to disorders affecting the intervertebral discs, caused either by trauma or gradual disc degradation that occurs as part of the natural aging process. The most common disc-related disorder is degenerative disc disease, which is the loss of water content in the nucleus pulposus (the gel-like center of a disc). Diminished water content affects the height and elasticity of the disc, which threatens overall spinal stability. If a disc weakens to the point that it tears, or herniates, that injury can irritate nerves in the disc’s wall and cause pain. The injury also may allow disc material to escape and press upon nerves in the spinal column. While herniated discs and bulging discs often remain asymptomatic, anatomical abnormalities within the spine can lead to debilitating nerve compression.

Symptoms of Discogenic Injury

When a disc wall, nerve root, or the spinal cord is irritated or impinged, symptoms such as pain, tingling, numbness or muscle weakness can occur. In the case of a herniated disc, for example, extruded nucleus material leaks into the spinal canal and comes into contact with sensitive components of the central nervous system. The location of the impingement determines the area of the body affected by symptoms, but a disc injury in the neck is not the same as a disc injury in the lower back. The frequency and likelihood of disc injuries differs from one spinal region to the other, for several reasons:

• Cervical (neck) discogenic injury – Because of the relative mobility of the cervical region, disc injury (usually related to whiplash) is fairly common in the neck.
• Thoracic (upper back) discogenic injury – Because of the protection and stability provided by the ribcage, less than 1 percent of disc injuries occur in the thoracic region.
• Lumbosacral (lower back) discogenic injury – Because of the weight-bearing function and relative flexibility of the lower back, this is the most common location of disc injuries.

Click Here to see how you can get your life back in 5 days

Treating Discogenic Injury

Regardless of the location of the compressed nerve, symptoms usually can be managed with pain medication, physical therapy and other conservative methods. However, if chronic discogenic pain persists despite weeks or months of conservative treatment, surgery may become an option. Contact Laser Spine Institute (LSI) to learn how tens of thousands of patients have found relief from discogenic back pain with our minimally invasive, outpatient procedures performed using advanced, endoscopic techniques.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.