Monitoring
There is no routine monitoring for degenerative disc disease. It may be appropriate to consider consultation with a back specialist when patients with non-specific low back pain do not respond to standard non-invasive therapies. However, there is insufficient evidence to guide specific recommendations on the timing of or indications for referral.[187]
Any rapidly progressive symptoms warrant further urgent investigation.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans provide an excellent assessment of the discal pathology, nerve root compression, canal compression due to hypertrophied ligamentum flavum, and the facet joints. These findings should always be interpreted with caution because even in the presence of degenerative findings, the MRI of the spine alone is not an absolute indicator of the patient's symptoms.[70][72][73][74]
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