Intervertebral discs form the connection between 2 vertebral bodies. They consist of an inner soft pulpous nucleus (nucleus pulposus) that is surrounded by a fibrous ring with cartilaginous tissue (anulus fibrosus) and the cover plates consisting of hyaline cartilage that extend into the vertebral bodies. The pulpous nucleus is formed by a colloidal tissue with few cells but a high water content.

Intervertebral discs are numbered among the bradytrophic tissues. They have few or no blood vessels (blood capillaries) and therefore only a very weak metabolic activity. They are supplied via diffusion, that is a physical process in which the necessary exchange of liquids happens through pressure at stress. This way, nutrients (like proteins, enzymes, minerals) get into the cells of the discs and waste substances are excreted at the same time.

Due to the daily stress, the intervertebral discs lose liquid during the day which they regenerate at night. If persons do not exercise sufficiently, this process can be disturbed with consequential disc complaints. On general, the amount of liquid in the intervertebral discs resp. the pulpous nucleus decreases with advanced age. That is why signs of wear and complaints are more frequent in later life. Beginning signs of wear also show in an increasing number of younger people because of frequent one-sided stress and a lack of exercise.

Among others, symptoms of disc degeneration can be:

• Pain in the bones

• Fractures (femoral neck, wrist, vertebral bodies)

• Prolongated fracture healing

• Back pain and hyperkyphosis

• Loss of height

Vicious circle back pain

Chronic pain [2] has a huge impact on the life of people affected. Unsuccessful therapy attempts often massively limit the quality of life and cause a depressed mood, anxiety and a reduced performance capacity. Some damages can be compensated by healthy intervertebral discs. Regeneration takes a long time as cartilage tissue has a slow metabolism. Disorders of these endogenous repair mechanism, i. e. reduced metabolic activity, can decrease elasticity, height and resilience of the intervertebral discs with ususally very painful consequences.

Common back complaints

Frequent disorders that can lead to severe pain which can be a massive restriction of daily life are:

​

Disc protrusion
A degenerated and brittle fibrous ring can not hold the pulpous nucleus in place. Consequently, the intervertebral disc can protrude into the vertebral canal and put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves which can result in intense pain.

​

Lumbago
An intense paralysing pain in the lumbar part of the spine after a rapid movement can be a symptom of lumbago. Patients can hardly move and take on a relieving posture. Reasons for chronic lumbago are often degenerative changes on intervertebral discs and vertebral joints of the lumbar spine.

​

Disc prolapse
When stress causes tearing of the fibrous ring, the pulpous nucleus can leak into the spinal cord and nerve cords running inside are compressed. This results in strong, radiating pain (even in times of rest) and disorders of sensibility. In severe cases, the urge to defecate and urinate can be disturbed and paralysis is possible.

​

Osteochondrosis
Changes on the osseous structures of the spine as a result of the degeneration of intervetebral discs are called osteochondrosis. If ossification progresses, the mobility of the spine can be impaired to such an extent that the affected part of the spine stiffens completely. This causes permanent intense back pain at nearly every movement and also at rest.