Cervical disc herniation and cervical spine degeneration
WorkSafeBC Evidence-Based Practice Group, Martin CW
Record ID 32018015242
English
Authors' objectives:
To determine whether there is any evidence to support the (causal) association that in the absence of fusion or any other surgical intervention that disc herniation will, over time, develop into diffuse degenerative changes at the cervical spine.
Authors' results and conclusions:
The literature searches identified 2200 published studies. Upon examination on the titles and abstracts of these 2200 studies, 15 studies were retrieved in full for further appraisal. One additional study was identified from manual searches. Of the 16 articles that were retrieved in full, no study provided any evidence that, in the absence of fusion or other surgical intervention, prior cervical disc herniation would cause adjacent segment disc degeneration or disc herniation; nor is there any evidence that prior cervical disc herniation would cause diffuse cervical degenerative changes. At present, there is no published study showing that, in the absence of fusion or other surgical intervention, prior cervical disc herniation would cause adjacent segment disc herniation, nor would it cause cervical diffuse vertebral degenerative changes.
Authors' methods:
A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted on October 14, 2025. The search was done on commercial medical literature databases where a combination of key words was employed in this search. No limitation, such as on the language or date of publication, was implemented in any of these searches. A manual search was also planned and conducted on the references of the articles that were retrieved in full.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/research-services/evidence-based-medicine-and-systematic-reviews
Year Published:
2025
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Mini HTA
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Cervical Vertebrae
- Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
- Back Pain
- Disease Progression
- Neck Pain
- Intervertebral Disc Displacement
Keywords
- disc herniation
- intervertebral disc displacement
- protruded disc
- disk degenerations
- cervical
Contact
Organisation Name:
WorkSafeBC
Contact Address:
6591 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC, V7C 1C6 Canada. Tel: 604-231-8417; Fax: 604-279-7698
Contact Name:
ebpg@worksafebc.com
Contact Email:
ebpg@worksafebc.com
Copyright:
WorkSafe BC
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.