Disc Puncture Does Not Accelerate Degenerative Changes in Lumbar Discs of Patients With Discogenic Pain

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients eligible for early intradiscal procedures included those with low back pain (NRS \> 5) caused by discogenic pain due to disc degeneration or radicular pain due to disc protrusion and subsequent nerve root compression. All patients were required to have been resistant to conservative therapy. Diagnoses were based on patient history, physical examination, imaging studies, and, in some cases, provocative discography if discogenic pain could not otherwise be clearly identified. Exclusion Criteria: * • Perioperative complications. * Post-interventional lumbar spine surgery in the region to be examined. * Contraindications for a repeated MRI. * Metastases or infection of the spine since surgery. * Spinal canal stenosis. * A diagnosis of anxiety disorder, depression, or somatoform disorder since surgery, based on their medical history.