MRI can determine the degree of lumbar disc fibrous ring tear, but it is not as effective as intervertebral discography.
1. After tearing the annulus fibrosus of lumbar intervertebral disc, the annulus fibrosus will show a high signal area on MRI. Generally speaking, there is a certain correlation between the high signal area and the disc tear, and the degree of tearing can be roughly judged through the performance of the signal area.
2. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) more often shows the tear pattern of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc, i.e. concentric, transverse and radial. Concentric tear is the rupture of fibers in a crescent-shaped or oval cavity; transverse tear is the breakage of fibers near the edge of the vertebral body; and radial tear is the fissure extending from the nucleus pulposus to the outermost layer of the annulus fibrosus.
However, determining the extent of a tear in the annulus fibrosus of a lumbar disc is largely dependent on discography. All grade 1, 2, and 3 annulus fibrosus ruptures were presented during discography.