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Discography for low back pain

Discography is a medical procedure that involves injecting a dye into the jellylike center of a spinal disc to help diagnose back problems. During discography, a health professional evaluates the amount of pressure needed to inject the dye into the disc, whether it causes pain that is the same as your regular pain, how much dye is used, and how the dye appears on X-ray once it is inside the disc.

Most people have changes to their spinal discs as they age, but these changes usually do not cause any symptoms. If your doctor suspects that a disc is causing symptoms such as back pain or pain down your leg, he or she may suggest discography to help determine whether disc changes are actually causing your symptoms.1

Citations

  1. Carragee EJ, Hannibal M (2004). Diagnostic evaluation of low back pain. Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 35(2004): 7–16.

Author Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Editor Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Associate Editor Pat Truman
Primary Medical Reviewer William M. Green, MD
- Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Robert B. Keller, MD
- Orthopedics
Last Updated February 6, 2008

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: February 06, 2008
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