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 .
Twelve-Month Follow-Up of a Controlled Trial of Intradiscal Thermal Anuloplasty for Back Pain Due to Internal Disc Disruption
Study Design . Case-control study . Objectives . To determine the prima facie efficacy of intradiscal electrothermal anuloplasty ( IDTA ) . Summary of Background Data . Although it is being used increasingly as a putative treatment for internal disc disruption , no studies have been published on the efficacy of IDTA . Methods . Fifty-three patients with back pain determined by computed tomographic (CT)-discography to be due to internal disc disruption were offered treatment . The outcomes of 35 patients treated with IDTA were compared with those of a convenience sample of 17 patients treated with a physical rehabilitation program , by using a visual analog pain scale , use of analgesics , and return to work as measures . Results . At 3 months , only one control patient obtained any significant degree of relief of pain , compared with 23 in the index group . Relief of pain was sustained at 6 and 12 months and was associated with improvement in disability , reduced drug use , and a return to work rate of 53 % . Depending on the stringency of criteria used , the success rate of IDTA may be as low as 23 % or as high as 60 % with confidence intervals of ±16 % . Conclusions . In carefully selected cases , IDTA can eliminate or dramatically reduce the pain of internal disc disruption in a substantial proportion of patients and appears to be superior to conventional conservative care for internal disc disruption
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 .