Hope may be on the horizon, though, with promising results from a three-year trial signaling a new, long-lasting way to address a condition that is currently only treated by physiotherapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid injections or, at its most serious, surgery.

"Existing treatment for chronic low back pain due to degenerative disk disease is often ineffective or the effects are short-lived," said Dr Douglas Beall, lead author and chief of radiology at Clinical Radiology of Oklahoma.