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Post Discogram

A Post discogram is a test used to evaluate back pain. A discogram may help your doctor determine if an abnormal disk in your spine is causing your back pain. Dye is injected into the soft center of the disk. The injection itself sometimes reproduces your back pain. The dye also moves into any cracks in the disk's exterior, which can then be seen on an X-ray or CT scan.

Some of Your Questions

• What is a Post Discogram?
• How should I prepare?
• How is the procedure performed?
• What will I experience during and after the procedure?
• Who interprets the results and how do I get them?

What is a Post Discogram?

A discogram, or discography, is an interventional diagnostic imaging test that helps determine whether a specific intervertebral disc may be the source of back pain.

Intervertebral discs are sponge-like cushions between the vertebrae, or bones, of the spine. Discs act as a sort of shock absorber for the spine and help provide flexibility.

Each disc has a strong outer layer called an annulus and a center part, called a nucleus, made of a soft, rubber-like material. When discs bulge or rupture, they may press on the nerves of the spinal column and cause pain or weakness.

In a discogram, a contrast liquid is injected into the center of one or more spinal discs using x-ray guidance. This injection may temporarily reproduce the patient's back pain symptoms. As part of the procedure, an x-ray or CT scan also may be performed to obtain pictures of the injected disc.

How should I prepare?

You may need to avoid taking blood-thinning medications for a period of time before the procedure. Your doctor will give you specific instructions about what medicines you can take. You will need to avoid food or drink the morning before the test.

How is the procedure performed?

Discography uses imaging guidance to direct an injection of contrast material into the center of one or more spinal discs to help identify the source of back pain. It also is used to help guide the treatment of abnormal intervertebral discs – sponge-like cushions located between the vertebrae of the spine.

What will I experience during and after the procedure?

During a Post Discogram

During the procedure, you lie on a table on your abdomen. After cleaning your skin, your doctor may inject a numbing medicine to decrease pain caused by the insertion of the discography needles.

Your doctor will use an imaging technique (fluoroscopy) that enables him or her to watch as the needle enters your body. Fluoroscopy allows more precise and safer placement of the needle into the center of the disk to be examined. A contrast dye is then injected into the disk, and an X-ray or CT scan is taken to see if the dye spreads.

If the dye stays in the center of the disk, the disk is normal. If the dye spreads outside the center of the disk, the disk has undergone some wear-and-tear change. These changes may or may not be the cause of your pain.

Typically, if a disk is causing your back pain, you will feel pain during the injection that's similar to the back pain you have daily. If a disk is normal, there's little pain during injection. During discography, you will be asked to rate your pain.

After a Post Discogram

It is normal to have some pain at the injection site or in the low back for several hours after the procedure. You will need to keep your back dry for 24 hours after the procedure.

Who interprets the results and how do I get them?

Your doctor will review the images and the information you provided about the pain you experienced during the procedure. Both are important to help pinpoint the source of your back pain. Your doctor will use this information to guide your ongoing treatment or prepare for surgery.

Follow-up examinations may be necessary, and your doctor will explain the reason why another exam is needed. Sometimes a follow-up exam is done because a suspicious or questionable finding needs clarification with additional views or a special imaging technique. A follow-up examination may be necessary so that any change in a known abnormality can be monitored over time. Follow-up examinations are sometimes the best way to see if treatment is working or if an abnormality is stable over time.