The Natural History of Age-related Disc Degeneration

Abstract

Tears in the L4-L5 disc show different patterns of incidence with aging, which can be explained by current biomechanical concepts. Tears may not only perturb disc function and cause segmental instability, but the frequency of neovascularization accompanied by neoinnervation indicates that pain originating within the degenerate disc should not be dismissed as the frequent evidence of bleeding into the tear lumen indicates the susceptibility of the vessels to trauma.