ArticleArchives of medical science : AMS2012
The relationship between low pH in intervertebral discs and low back pain: a systematic review.
Article in Archives of medical science : AMS, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surviving the Nucleus Pulposus Desert: Next-Generation Strategies for Intervertebral Disc Cell Therapy.JOR spine · 2026Article
- A Proteomic Glance at the Bovine Intervertebral Disc.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- What a pain in the back: etiology, diagnosis and future treatment directions for discogenic low back pain.Bone research · 2025Review
- Dual-pathological cascade delivery of apoptotic vesicles for targeted therapy in intervertebral disc degeneration.Materials today. Bio · 2025Article
- Comparative study of thoracolumbar fascia changes in weightlifters with and without low back pain.PloS one · 2025Article
- Proteomic profiling of small extracellular vesicles from bovine nucleus pulposus cells.PloS one · 2025Article
- Comparative efficacy of muscle energy technique and Bowen technique on hamstrings muscle tightness in chronic low back pain patients.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- An esterase-responsive ibuprofen nano-micelle pre-modified embryo derived nucleus pulposus progenitor cells promote the regeneration of intervertebral disc degeneration.Bioactive materials · 2023Article
- Conscious connected breathing with breath retention intervention in adults with chronic low back pain: protocol for a randomized controlled pilot study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2023Article
- Intervertebral disc degeneration-Current therapeutic options and challenges.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Proposal to Consider Chemical/Physical Microenvironment as a New Therapeutic Off-Target Approach.Pharmaceutics · 2022Article
- Article
- Stem cells in intervertebral disc regeneration-more talk than action?Biocell : official journal of the Sociedades Latinoamericanas de Microscopia Electronica ... et. al · 2021Article
- Acid-sensing ion channel 3: An analgesic target.Channels (Austin, Tex.) · 2021Review
- A Role for Superficial Heat Therapy in the Management of Non-Specific, Mild-to-Moderate Low Back Pain in Current Clinical Practice: A Narrative Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Degenerative IVD conditioned media and acidic pH sensitize sensory neurons to cyclic tensile strain.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2021Article
- Exosomes Derived from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Prevent Acidic pH-Induced Damage in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2020Article
- Lactate Efflux From Intervertebral Disc Cells Is Required for Maintenance of Spine Health.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2020Article
- Increased lactic acid content associated with extracellular matrix depletion in a porcine disc degeneration induced by superficial annular lesion.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2019Article
- Quantitative Single-Cell Transcript Assessment of Biomarkers Supports Cellular Heterogeneity in the Bovine IVD.Veterinary sciences · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionTo systematically review the relationship between low pH in intervertebral discs and low back pain. MATERIAL AND
methodsElectronic database (PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, AMED, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) searches and hand searching of conference proceedings were conducted. Two authors independently evaluated the methodological quality and abstracted relevant data according to standard criteria. Then the experimental methods and samples employed in the finally retrieved articles were assessed.
resultsWe first retrieved 136 articles regarding pain and pH, and only 16 of them were mainly about low back pain and pH. Finally, 7 articles met our expectation to focus on the pathogenesis of low back pain caused by pH. In these 7 studies the authors held three opinions to explain the pathogenesis of low back pain in relation to low pH. First, low pH caused by lactate stimulates the muscle and increases the muscle tension, which causes low back pain. Second, low pH stimulates the nerve roots and produces the feeling of pain. Third, low pH changes the matrix metabolism, leading to neuronal death and low back pain.
conclusionsIn this systematic review we propose a new hypothesis that low back pain may be caused by low pH based on the previous literature. Further experimental studies are necessary to verify our hypothesis. This hypothesis will promote our understanding of the pathogenesis of low back pain and the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for low back pain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.