Every year many people lose their capacity for work as a result of spine diseases. Lumbar pain can appear due to many causes. In approximately 45% of cases, the source of pain in the lower back is the intervertebral disc.

Signs:
- Young age (below 45 years)
- Sudden onset
- Triggered by weight lifting
- Pain gets stronger in a sitting position, relieves in a prone position
- Pain is localized in the middle of the back
- The pain may radiate to the hip, less often - below the knees
- The pain worsens when patient straightens up from a bent position

There are no specific diagnostic tests confirming or excluding the diagnosis of discogenic pain. MRI can show decreased disc height, the presence of so-called "zones of high intensity", changed structure of the vertebral bodies - the so-called Mobic 1 or Mobic 2.

The above changes are often seen in patients presenting with discogenic pain, but they can also occur in people who have never experienced back pain.

Treatment

Medication treatment includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and mild narcotic analgesics. Medications are usually administered for a limited time (up to 3 months).

There is currently no convincing evidence that active exercise provides for better results than being at rest. There is also no convincing evidence of the usefulness of other conservative methods of treatment (traction, manual therapy, physiotherapy, the use of a spinal support).

Invasive theratment

Over the past few years, many minimally invasive procedures have been introduced to treat discogenic pain. These include intradiscal injections, intradiscal electrothermal therapy and radiofrequency treatment of the so-called "connecting branches" - nerves of small diameter innervating the disc.

Currently, the method of choice is the radiofrequency ablation of the connecting branches, since this method is one of the most effective and safe.