The Minimally Invasive Discseel® Procedure
Repairs Annular Tears Without Surgery.
Annular Tears Are the Underlying Cause of Most Disc Problems
Herniations, bulges, protusions, degenerative disc disease, even
spine arthritis and bone spurs are all caused by annular tears
Surgery cannot heal tears and instead worsens them.
Only the Discseel® Procedure seals and heals annular tears.
what are annular tears?
As we get older, the vertebral discs can start to exhibit wear and cause some health problems. A common problem is tear in the annulus fibrosus, or annular fibers, commonly referred to as an annular tear or leaky disc. Those tears are the precise source of underlying disc and sciatica symptoms.
CAUSES
- Lifting while bending forward and twisting, or repetitive forward bending and twisting during daily activities and exercise.
- Golf, weight lifting, football, cross-fit training, and other athletic activities.
- Car accidents, slipping and falling.
Although low back pain is associated with annular tears, these tears often leak and cause chemical inflammation of spinal nerves, causing hip and leg pain and/or numbness reaching into the feet and toes. If one has annular tears in their neck, the symptoms may refer pain in the arm and cause numbness or similar symptoms in the hands and fingers. Formally, these symptoms are called radiculopathy.
DIAGNOSIS
Low back and neck pain is most often caused by spinal discs, specifically, annular tears in the disc. Published research confirms that over 95% of the time, when a person has chronic low back or neck pain, they have three or more discs causing the symptoms, regardless of what the MRI shows or what the surgeon thinks.
Patients prefer undergoing annulogram tests over discogram tests because annulograms are essentially pain-free, simple, and brief. During the test, a highly skilled spine specialist directs an almost microscopic needle into the annulus fibrosus of each disc in the symptomatic region of the low back or neck. Next, a trace amount of x-ray contrast dye combine with antibiotic is gently injected into the annular tears with live video, watching for x-ray contrast flow through annular tears. Those tears are the precise source of underlying disc and sciatica symptoms. Finally, the precise cause of symptoms is identified within minutes. Some of these same patients may have previously suffered from unsuccessful epidurals, physical therapy, medications, even discograms and multiple surgeries.
MORE ON ANNULAR TEARS
The spinal disc is made of two parts: the outer annulus fibrosus rings and the inner nucleus pulposus gel. These annular rings are important because they keep the inner gel contained. This is critical because when the gel leaks out, symptoms occur. This is because the human body perceives leaked nucleus pulposus gel as a foreign substance, causing inflammation within the disc or on spinal nerve roots, leading to sciatica and low back pain.
Annular tears are the root of spine pain for many patients. The first complaint is low back pain, and as annular tears progressively worsen, they leak and lead to disc herniations, bulges, degeneration, and desiccation.
Conservative options, such as ...
Anti-Inflammatory Medications
Pain Medications
Steroid Injections
Physical Therapy
Low Impact Excercise
Are often prescribed to treat symptoms
only the Discseel® procedure is known to heal annular tears
THE DISCSEEL® PROCEDURE uses Fibrin, an FDA-approved substance that is used off-label in this procedure, to seal and regenerate tissue. Fibrin is injected into disc tears, typically taking less than an hour. You’ll be walking the same day. The disc continues healing over 3-12 months as you increase your activity.
find out if you are a discseel®Candidate
patient success
After being told his only cure was spinal fusion surgery, Jim searched for an alternative and found the Discseel® Procedure . He is now back to his active lifestyle and has been pain free since his procedure.
Sean wanted to find a solution to his back pain that didn’t involve putting hardware in his spine, so he chose the Discseel® Procedure. Now he’s living pain-free and has been able to return to the lifestyle he loves.
When Erica began developing spinal pain, she felt that the activities she loved were taken away from her. Erica now says that the Discseel® Procedure has “100% turned her life around” and allowed her to get back to the things she loves, like running.
Articles on annular tears
News articles and blog posts by Dr. Pauza & Team
Explaining Annular Tears
By Dr. Kevin Pauza
In order to understand annular tears, we have to understand that the spinal disc is made of two parts: the outer annulus fibrosus rings and the inner nucleus pulposus gel. These annular rings are important because they keep the inner gel inside. This is critical because when gel leaks outwards, painful symptoms can occur. This pain occurs because the human body perceives leaked nucleus pulposus gel as a foreign substance, causing inflammation within the disc or on the spinal nerves, which leads to sciatica and low back pain.
Surgery, staples, plugs, and chemical glue can’t repair these tears. However, by using FDA-approved Fibrin off-label to seal the tears and encourage tissue growth in order to allow discs to heal themselves, the Discseel® Procedure permanently heals torn spinal discs. The Discseel® Procedure was developed because it was well-established that Fibrin heals other parts of the human body, making it the most logical solution. The North American Spine Society confirmed that the Discseel® Procedure seals and heals annular tears.
If you have a disc bulge, herniation, or degeneration, there is most likely a causative disc tear that needs repair. READ MORE
Diagnosing Annular Tears
By Dr. Kevin Pauza
The rings of the annulus fibrosus are composed of 22-25 layers. All the sensory nerves reside within these layers. Tears of inner layers cause the gel to leak within the layers, causing inflammation and pain within the disc. This is why a patient’s MRI may look normal while the patient suffers from severe pain. It is difficult for annular tears to be diagnosed by MRI alone.
The annulogram test is one of the most accurate ways to diagnose these tears. According to patients, annulograms are simple, brief, and essentially pain-free. During the test, an almost microscopic needle is directed into the annulus fibrosus of each disc in the symptomatic region of the low back or neck. Next, a trace amount of x-ray contrast dye combined with an antibiotic is gently injected into the annular layers while using live video to watch for x-ray contrast flow through the tears. Finally, the precise cause of symptoms is identified within minutes.
For patient convenience, at the same time that the annulogram identifies torn spinal discs, the needles remain in place. Next, through those needles, Fibrin, and FDA-approved substance that is used off-label in this procedure, is introduced into each annulus fibrosus tear, immediately sealing all tears. This combination of the Annulogram followed by introducing Fibrin at the same time is what’s known as the Discseel® Procedure. READ MORE
Treating Annular Tears
By Dr. Kevin Pauza
Although there’s a likelihood that symptoms caused by annular tears temporarily resolve within six months in most people, the tears themselves don’t heal unless treated with Fibrin, an FDA-approved substance used off-label in this procedure. Additionally, it’s important to know that conservative treatments have not been shown to resolve pain caused by torn, leaky spinal discs. This includes epidurals, physical therapy, medication, low-impact exercise, and chiropractic treatment.
The Discseel® Procedure is the only conservative treatment shown to heal spine tissue damaged by torn spinal discs. Fibrin is injected into disc tears, usually in less than an hour, and patients are walking within the same day. READ MORE
Chronic Low Back Pain & Annular Tears
By Dr. Kevin Pauza
It’s important to note that low back pain is considered chronic once it has lasted six months or longer. At that point, chronic low back pain is unlikely to resolve on its own, meaning that the underlying cause of that pain is not mechanical or easily identifiable.
The reason why the cause of chronic low back pain is often so difficult to determine is that it is often caused by annular tears. These tears cannot be seen on MRIs or other common imaging tests and, unfortunately, most common treatments for back pain are unable to address them. Let’s discuss how annular tears cause chronic low back pain and what can place you at risk for developing these tears. READ MORE
Common Signs of Annular Tears in Your Spinal Disc
The spine is one of the most important components in the human body as it allows you to bend, twist, extend, and more. However, due to the many functions of the spine, it is susceptible to injury. One of the most common sources of back pain is developing tears in the spinal discs. These tears may go unnoticed at first, but if they are left untreated, they can lead to a variety of other spine issues. READ MORE
What Are Annular Tears?
The discs found between each of the vertebrae in the spine are made up of two components, and the outer component is known as the annulus fibrosus. The annulus fibrosus is tough and durable, and it is critical for providing stability for the spine. However, this portion of the spinal disc can wear down and develop tears. If this does occur, these annular tears can lead to a number of other back problems. READ MORE
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