Relievant Medsystems Announces New Vertebrogenic Low Back Pain ICD-10 Diagnosis Code

Relievant Medsystems, a privately held medical device company transforming the treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), today announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis code specifically for vertebrogenic low back pain. The new diagnosis code – M54.51 – will go into effect on October 1, 2021.

Vertebrogenic pain is a form of chronic low back pain that develops due to damaged vertebral endplates, allowing inflammatory materials from the disc to enter the vertebral body. The resulting inflammatory cascade can be observed on standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as Modic changes – enabling patients with vertebrogenic pain to be diagnosed via an objective biomarker. The inflammatory environment irritates the basivertebral nerve (located within the vertebral body), which transmits pain signals to the central nervous system.

The Intracept^® Procedure, the only FDA-cleared treatment for chronic vertebrogenic low back pain, stops the transmission of pain signals from damaged vertebral endplates through ablation of the basivertebral nerve. Supported by two Level I randomized controlled trials, long-term data demonstrated that improvements in pain and function are maintained more than five years following the procedure.

“The CDC’s recognition of vertebrogenic pain as a specific low back pain condition follows decades of research characterizing the role of the basivertebral nerve in transmitting pain signals from damaged vertebral endplates,” said Tyler Binney, President and Chief Executive Officer, Relievant Medsystems. “For the first time, clinicians have a unique code to diagnose and report this condition accurately, helping connect the millions of patients suffering from vertebrogenic pain with effective, long-lasting relief following the Intracept Procedure.”