RESULTS The results of this review confirm and help quantify the significant differences that existed in the terminology and all the areas of diagnosis and treatment of presumed discogenic pain .
Our findings show that suspected discogenic pain , despite its extensive affirmation in the literature and enormous re sources regularly devoted to it , currently lacks clear diagnostic criteria and uniform treatment or terminology
BACKGROUND CONTEXT Pain innate to intervertebral disc , often referred to as discogenic pain , is suspected by some authors to be the major source of chronic low back and neck pain .
Current management of suspected discogenic pain lacks st and ardized diagnosis , treatment , and terminology .
PURPOSE In an attempt to determine whether patterns existed that may facilitate st and ardization of care , we sought to analyze the terminologies used and the various modes of diagnosis and treatment of suspected discogenic pain .
Intradiscal thermal annuloplasty versus intradiscal radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of discogenic pain: a prospective matched control trial.
OBJECTIVE Two minimally invasive techniques have been used more recently as a possible treatment for  painful internal disk disruption ( IDD ) .  Intradiscal thermal annuloplasty ( IDTA ) , known as IDET , has already shown promising results in pain reduction and functional restoration . The second technique , radiofrequency posterior annuloplasty ( RFA ) , is used in many interventional pain practice s , although studies on the technique 's efficacy are lacking . This study compares the effectiveness of those two methods . DESIGN AND PATIENTS We matched 42 patients ( 21 had IDTA and 21 radiofrequency annuloplasty ) for age , sex , weight , smoking history , manual labor , and number of intervertebral disks treated . Enrolled patients completed pain disability index ( PDI ) question naires before receiving either IDTA or RFA ; at 2 weeks ; and 2 , 3 , 6 , 9 , and 12 months following either treatment . RESULTS From the third to the twelfth month after the procedure , the IDTA group had significantly lower mean pain scores than the RFA group . Visual analog scale ( VAS ) pain scores decreased from 6.6 + /- 2.0 before to 4.4 + /- 2.4 at 1 year after radiofrequency annuloplasty ( P = 0.001 ) , while in the IDTA group the average VAS pain score decreased from 7.4 + /- 1.9 before IDTA to 1.4 + /- 1.9 at 1 year follow-up . Similarly , PDI scores in the IDTA group had a significantly larger improvement than those for patients who received radiofrequency annuloplasty . CONCLUSIONS This study shows significant improvement in pain scores and patients ' PDI following IDTA but not after RFA of the intervertebral disks . IDTA appears to be more efficacious than RFA based on PDI and VAS scores measured at 1 year following procedure
RESULTS The results of this review confirm and help quantify the significant differences that existed in the terminology and all the areas of diagnosis and treatment of presumed discogenic pain .
Our findings show that suspected discogenic pain , despite its extensive affirmation in the literature and enormous re sources regularly devoted to it , currently lacks clear diagnostic criteria and uniform treatment or terminology
BACKGROUND CONTEXT Pain innate to intervertebral disc , often referred to as discogenic pain , is suspected by some authors to be the major source of chronic low back and neck pain .
Current management of suspected discogenic pain lacks st and ardized diagnosis , treatment , and terminology .
PURPOSE In an attempt to determine whether patterns existed that may facilitate st and ardization of care , we sought to analyze the terminologies used and the various modes of diagnosis and treatment of suspected discogenic pain .