Spine surgeons have always known the lumbar disc nucleus has a short temper — but now, thanks to a New York–Tokyo collaboration, we know a little more about what really pushes it over the edge.
A team from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), working with Showa University in Tokyo, has unveiled new intel on what drives progression of nucleus pulposus degeneration. Their retrospective study, “Risk factors for progression of nucleus pulposus degeneration in the lumbar intervertebral disc,” just dropped in the July 2025 Spine Journal, and the findings point to two culprits: age and congestive heart failure.
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