Discogram Searches for Answer to Back Pain

Back pain is often a common reason that people seek help from their healthcare provider.

Their healthcare provider will take the time to seek for answers to the cause of continued back pain.

After an in-depth physical examination, gathering a personal history, a complete physical and blood work, often the health care provider will decide that a more extensive examination is necessary.

These examinations will often include x-rays. However, there are limitations to exactly what an x-ray can show so your healthcare provider may suggest a discogram to determine the cause of the back pain.

A discogram works by instilling a special dye into a spinal disc makes the x-ray more easily read.

The special dye shows up on a different kind of x-ray called a fluoroscope designed to give an improved view of the disc. With the use of a discogram it becomes clearly evident if a disc is herniated, cracked, deteriorating or if it has become misshapen. Any of these irregularities are known as a slipped disc. If the discogram shows any of these issues then perhaps these are the reasons for the back pain you are experiencing.

If the discogram shows damage to a disc then the healthcare provider will inject additional dye directly into the damaged disc in order to test what might happen if the damaged disc is exposed to intense pressure.

If the pain elicited by the injection then it is clearly evident that particular disc is responsible for the pain the patient has been feeling. Knowing the source of the back pain will lead to appropriate back pain treatment. However if there is no pain or if it is not the same pain the patient has been experiencing then the pain is coming from somewhere else. Other tests such as a CT scan or MRI can also be beneficial in learning the cause of the pain.

Make no mistake a discogram is not without some risks.

It is an invasive procedure and there are things, although rare, that can go wrong. For example, some patients can have an allergic reaction to the dye from the discogram. It is possible that the dye can lead to an infection inside the disc itself.

Believe it or not this can actually cause even more pain than the patient was living with initially. Because of these risks, some health care providers prefer the use of an MRI or CT scan first and some even avoid using a discogram at all. Some feel that if you utilize the discogram appropriately then the risks are reduced, but others just prefer to simply avoid the risks.

Talk with your healthcare provider and research your options thoroughly before agreeing to undergo a discogram. Although a rare occurrence, you might not want to take a chance and end up with more back pain that you started out with!