How Painful Is a Discogram?
The needle insertions for IV and local anesthetic may cause a mild stinging pain from the pricking.
The discogram is designed to provoke existing pain to find out the source, so certain amount of pain is to be expected. If the disc is normal there will most likely be no pain, there might be a sense of pressure.
If the disc is abnormal, the discogram duplicates the patient’s original pain. The sedation helps reduce the patient’s pain and discomfort, and painkillers can be used to relieve the pain.