Each year, 14.3% of new patient visits to primary care physicians are for low back pain, and nearly 13 million physician visits annually are related to complaints of chronic LBP, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The anterior spinal elements bear over 90% of the forces transmitted through the lumbar spine in the sitting position. Although muscular and ligamentous supports account for dynamic stabilization, the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs provide static stability. When disc degeneration occurs, a cascade of progressive pain and function disability often occurs, affecting young to middle-aged persons with a peak incidence at 40 years, representing a poorly understood epidemic affecting our society.

Multiple theories have been advanced as causation for this process including genetic and environmental factors. Even more attempts have been made to diagnose, treat, and predict the outcome of this disease. This special issue on discogenic lumbar disease aims to discuss all aspects of lumbar disc disease. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Clinical presentation of discogenic lumbar disease
• Biomechanics of disc degeneration
• Natural history of lumbar DDD
• The genetic basis of disease
• Diagnostic testing
• Regenerative therapies
• Arthrodesis
• Arthroplasty
• Outcome and complications
• Minimally invasive surgical techniques

Articles published in this special issue will not be subject to the journal's Article Processing Charges.

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aop/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: