Diskography

Abstract

Lumbar diskography is not a test for disk herniation. It is a test for intrinsically painful, externally intact disks and so does not compete with computed tomography as a diagnostic instrument. Formal studies have shown that the lumbar disks are innervated and can be a source of pain that has pathomorphologic correlates. The biological basis for lumbar diskography, therefore, resists criticism. Cervical diskography, however, lacks the same biological basis and remains open to criticism. Utility is the weak point of both lumbar and cervical diskography. Although both provide diagnostic information, it remains to be shown that this information makes a difference to outcome when treatment is direct to the ostensibly painful disk.