Back pain is an extremely common symptom and is experienced by over half the adult population (Lawrence, 1969). In some cases, well-defined causes such as a prolapsed intervertebral disc or ankylosing spondylitis can be recognized, but in the majority no precise cause can be identified. In this paper, a series of studies of the structure of the intervertebral disc is reported, and possible mech...

Degenerative spinal disorders, including intervertebral disc disease and spondylosis, seldom occur in domestic cats. In contrast, a retrospective study of 13 lions (Panthera leo), 16 tigers (Panthera tigris), 4 leopards (Panthera pardis), 1 snow leopard (Panthera uncia), and 3 jaguars (Panthera onca) from the Knoxville Zoo that died or were euthanatized from 1976 to 1996 indicated that degenera...

STUDY DESIGN In vitro assessment of the effects of platelet-rich plasma on the extracellular matrix metabolism of porcine intervertebral disc cells. OBJECTIVES To determine whether platelet-rich plasma is effective in stimulating cell proliferation and extracellular matrix metabolism by porcine disc cells cultured in alginate beads. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Platelet-rich plasma is used to...

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of eight weeks of conventional and suspension corestability exercises by use of the designed device on characteristic of intervertebral discs in low back pain.Methods: A total of 27 men with chronic low back (CLB) pain due to lumbar disc herniation in L4-L5 and L5-S1 regionswere enrolled in this quasi-experiment...

STUDY DESIGN Coil springs were stretched and attached to produce a compressive force across the lumbar intervertebral discs of dogs for up to 53 weeks. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that compressive forces applied to the intervertebral disc for a long period of time cause disc degeneration in vivo in a dog model. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA It is a commonly held belief that high forces ap...

BACKGROUND The natural, inflammatory repair processes of an injured intervertebral degenerative disc can propagate further injury and destruction. While there are many different treatment modalities of the pain related to degenerative disc disease, none are actually reparative in nature. Treatment strategies to repair a degenerative disc without inducing a destructive inflammatory milieu have b...

Discitis after discography is due to bacterial penetration into the intervertebral disc by a contaminated needle and has an incidence of 1% to 4%. We have examined the prophylactic role of cephazolin administered at the time of discography. An experimental study in sheep using radiographic contrast containing Staphylococcus epidermidis showed that either adding the antibiotic to the intradiscal...

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Discogenic pain secondary to intervertebral disc degeneration is a significant cause of low back pain. Disc degeneration is a complex multifactorial process. Animal models are essential to furthering understanding of the degenerative process and testing potential therapies. The adult human lumbar intervertebral disc is characterized ...

BACKGROUND The effect of the menopause and HRT on the intervertebral discs has not been investigated. METHODS One hundred women were recruited, comprising of 44 post-menopausal women on HRT, 33 untreated post-menopausal women and 23 pre-menopausal women. The height of the intervertebral discs between the 12th thoracic vertebra and the 3rd lumbar vertebra was measured by utilizing the bone den...