{"id":2921,"date":"2021-12-08T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fusfoundation.org\/?post_type=sw_disease_condition&#038;p=2921"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:44:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:44:12","slug":"disc-degeneration","status":"publish","type":"sw_disease_condition","link":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/","title":{"rendered":"Disc Degeneration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-focused-ultrasound-therapy\">Focused Ultrasound Therapy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with disc degeneration. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How it Works<\/strong><br>Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated to treat disc disease. One mechanism is precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) of the nerves that cause pain secondary to disc disease. A second mechanism involves focused ultrasound drugs release from nanoparticles that will degrade the ruptured intravertebral disc. A third mechanism is to use focused ultrasound to degrade the dysfunctional disc so it can be aspirated with a fine needle. After it has been removed, an injection of biomaterial can be accomplished. An additional mechanism is evaluating the use of a focused ultrasound activated hydrogel to restore the disc space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there has been preclinical investigation of focused ultrasound to treat degenerative discs, additional research is needed before this will be available for clinical use.<br><br>Recent work has been on treating the arthritis of the facet joint. See&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/pain-relief\/back-pain\">\u201cBack Pain\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;for added discussion on this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Advantages<\/strong><br>The primary options for treatment of disc degeneration include medication and invasive surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications \u2013 such as surgical wound healing or infection \u2013 at a lower cost.&nbsp;Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue, and it&nbsp;can be repeated, if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-clinical-trials\">Clinical Trials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatments of disc degeneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click <a href=\"https:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/search?cond=Disc%20Degeneration&amp;term=focused%20ultrasound&amp;aggFilters=status:not%20rec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>, it will take you to the latest information available from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clinicaltrials.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>https:\/\/www.clinicaltrials.gov\/<\/strong><\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-find-a-treatment-site\">Find a Treatment Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/the-technology\/treatment-sites\/?indication=Disc%20Degeneration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-regulatory-approval-and-reimbursement\">Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Focused ultrasound treatment for disc degeneration is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-notable-papers\">Notable Papers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Adams M, Lotz JC, Diederich C.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32620003\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>In silico feasibility assessment of extracorporeal delivery of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound to intervertebral discs within the lumbar spine<\/strong><\/a>. Phys Med Biol. 2020 Jul 3. doi: 10.1088\/1361-6560\/aba28d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qiao S, Elbes D, Boubriak O, Urban JPG, Coussios CC, Cleveland RO.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/31155405\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Delivering Focused Ultrasound to Intervertebral Discs Using Time-Reversal<\/strong><\/a>. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2019 May 30. pii: S0301-5629(19)30180-2. doi: 10.1016\/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.04.023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nguyen K, Pan HY, Haworth K, Mahoney E, Mercado-Shekhar KP, Lin CY, Zhang Z, C Park Y.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/30482711\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Multiple-Exposure Drug Release from Stable Nanodroplets by High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound for a Potential Degenerative Disc Disease Treatment<\/strong><\/a>. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2019 Jan;45(1):160-169. doi: 10.1016\/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.09.014. Epub 2018 Oct 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Karakitsios I, Mihcin S, Saliev T, Melzer A.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/26923220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Feasibility study of pre-clinical Thiel embalmed human cadaver for MR-guided focused ultrasound of the spine<\/strong><\/a>. Minim Invasive Ther Allied Technol. 2016;25(3):154-61. doi: 10.3109\/13645706.2016.1150297. Epub 2016 Feb 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forslund C, Persson J, Str\u00f6mqvist B, Lidgren L, McCarthy ID.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/16869008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Effects of high-intensity focused ultrasound on the intervertebral disc: a potential therapy for disc herniations<\/strong><\/a>. J Clin Ultrasound. 2006 Sep;34(7):330-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/?term=%28%22focused+ultrasound%22+OR+HIFU%29+and%22disc%22&amp;sort=date\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here<\/strong><\/a><strong> for additional references from PubMed.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":2,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"sw_disease_condition_cat":[25],"sw_disease_condition_stage":[14],"class_list":["post-2921","sw_disease_condition","type-sw_disease_condition","status-publish","hentry","sw_disease_condition_cat-pain-relief"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Focused Ultrasound Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-02T04:44:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/\",\"name\":\"Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-08T20:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-02T04:44:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Disc Degeneration\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/\",\"name\":\"Focused Ultrasound Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Focused Ultrasound Foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2023\/08\/24140306\/focused-ultrasound-foundation-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2023\/08\/24140306\/focused-ultrasound-foundation-logo.png\",\"width\":730,\"height\":76,\"caption\":\"Focused Ultrasound Foundation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation","description":"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation","og_description":"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/","og_site_name":"Focused Ultrasound Foundation","article_modified_time":"2025-07-02T04:44:12+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/","name":"Disc Degeneration - Focused Ultrasound Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-08T20:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-02T04:44:12+00:00","description":"Learn how focused ultrasound, a noninvasive therapeutic technology, is being investigated to address Disc Degeneration","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/diseases-and-conditions\/disc-degeneration\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Disc Degeneration"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/","name":"Focused Ultrasound Foundation","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#organization","name":"Focused Ultrasound Foundation","url":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2023\/08\/24140306\/focused-ultrasound-foundation-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2023\/08\/24140306\/focused-ultrasound-foundation-logo.png","width":730,"height":76,"caption":"Focused Ultrasound Foundation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition\/2921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sw_disease_condition"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition\/2921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35868,"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition\/2921\/revisions\/35868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"sw_disease_condition_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition_cat?post=2921"},{"taxonomy":"sw_disease_condition_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sw_disease_condition_stage?post=2921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}