One test for diagnosing back pain for patients suffering from chronic lower back pain (lumbar spine) is a discogram. The objective of this diagnostic test is to determine if a suspected disc, or discs, is/are a potential source to a patient’s lower back pain.
To perform this spinal diagnostic test, the patient is given medicine intravenously for mild sedation. Using an X-ray machine called a fluoroscope, a needle is placed into the spinal disc(s) that are suspected to be causing low back pain, as well as an unsuspecting adjacent disc to serve as a ‘control.’ A dye is then injected into the disc(s) of which creates pressure in the disc and outlines its internal structure.
In a normal disc, the patient typically experiences a slight pressure sensation in the back, and the X-ray image of the disc typically appears intact. If a disc is a source to a patient’s low back pain, the patient should experience pain similar in character and location of their usual low back pain. The X-ray image of a painful characteristically demonstrates a tear extending from the inner ‘nucleus’ through the outer ‘anulus.’
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