When used as a diagnostic tool for symptomatic degenerative disk disease, the provocative discogram is said to cause disk degeneration. From 1998 to 2011, discogram cases were identified. A matched control group without a discogram was discovered. Both underwent pre- and post-MRI exams, with at least five years elapsing between them. The group developed overall statistics as well as statistics for each level. The discogram cohort contained 53 patients (193 disks). About 51 individuals made up the control group (255 disks). There were no obvious demographic differences between the groups. The intervals between the index and follow-up MRIs for the discogram and control groups were 11 and 8 years, respectively. The L4-L5 was the level that was most frequently injected, L5-S1 was the level with the greatest consistency, and L4-L5 was the level that hurt the most (Visual Analog Scale=7.9) (75%). The most disturbing level, according to the discography, was L5-S1 (98%). Among discogram patients, there was a 60% degeneration from normal to abnormal MRI. Around 33% was the rate for the controls. The control cohort and discogram had statistically different cohorts (P<0.01). Around 58% of discogram patients underwent a fusion procedure. There was no difference in the degeneration rate between the discogram group without interval fusion and controls at a minimum follow-up of 5 years. The L5-S1 intervertebral disk level was the most painful, consonant, and abnormal level, according to the discogram. Comparable low back pain patients who did not receive a discogram had a higher rate of subsequent degeneration than patients who underwent an interval fusion and provocative discogram. The degeneration rates between discogram patients without interval spine fusion and patients without discogram exposure were comparable after at least 5 years of follow-up. The provocative discogram did not speed up these patients’ degeneration.
