Lumbar intervertebral disc diurnal deformations and T2 and T1rho relaxation times vary by spinal level and disc region

Purpose Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely used to evaluate spine pathology; however, standard imaging findings weakly correlate to low back pain. Abnormal disc mechanical function is implicated as a cause of back pain but is not assessed using standard clinical MRI. Our objective was to utilize our established MRI protocol for measuring disc function to quantify disc mechanical function in a healthy cohort. Methods We recruited young, asymptomatic volunteers (6 male/6 female; age 18–30 years; BMI