The disc has lost water content. On MRI it looks darker than a young, healthy disc.
In more detail
- Young discs are mostly water, and they lose it steadily with age. Desiccation is that loss showing up as a darker signal on the scan.
- It is one of the earliest and most common age-related findings in the spine. By middle age most people have it at one or more levels.
- It is often reported along with loss of disc height. That height loss is the physical result of the same process.
What it means for you
By itself, this describes an aging disc. It is not a diagnosis and not an injury. It only matters when it comes with other findings that match your symptoms.
Remember the general rule. Findings like this one are common in people with no pain at all. They get steadily more common with age. A finding on a report is not a diagnosis until someone matches it to your symptoms and your exam. See understanding your MRI report.
Bring your scan and report in, and we will go through it with you. Call us or request an appointment.
How common is it, and what does it predict?
Disc desiccation means the disc has lost water content and looks darker on MRI. It is the earliest and most common degenerative finding in the spine (a sign the disc is breaking down). Most adults have it by middle age. So do a large share of people in their twenties. On its own, it is a poor predictor of pain. It only matters when it comes with findings that match your symptoms. One example is height loss with foraminal narrowing (a tighter nerve opening) at the level that fits your leg pain. Another is endplate changes that fit pain centered in the back.
Common questions
Can I rehydrate my discs?
No treatment, supplement or device reliably puts water back in a disc. What does help is keeping the spine moving and strong.
The mechanism is covered in Degenerative Disc Disease.
Is this why my back hurts?
Usually not on its own. Many people with no pain have desiccation.
Mild, Moderate, Severe — What the Grades Mean goes through it in detail.
Is my disc drying out?
It is losing water content. That is a normal age-related change found in most adults. The phrase sounds scarier than the finding is.
Can it be reversed?
Not the water content itself. What can change is the pain. We find and treat whatever part is really causing it.
The detail is in Understanding Your MRI Report.
Should I stop exercising because of this?
No. Putting load on the spine, within what you can handle, keeps the disc fed. Discs have almost no blood supply of their own, so they depend on movement for food.
The same advice applies to Degenerative Disc Disease.
Sources
- Brinjikji W et al. Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 2015. PubMed 25430861
- Dudli S et al. Pathobiology of Modic changes. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2016. PubMed 26914098
- Bezuglov E et al. Asymptomatic Degenerative Changes in the Lumbar Spine Among Professional Soccer Players. Spine, 2021. PubMed 33347092
- Fardon DF et al. Lumbar disc nomenclature: version 2.0: Recommendations of the combined task forces of the North American Spine Society, the American Society of Spine Radiology and the American Society of Neuroradiology. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 2014. PubMed 24768732
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