People with chronic low back pain may benefit from a new injectable treatment currently being developed at the University of Manchester.
The treatment, which is yet to be tested on humans, consists of a biomaterial implant which could help to repair damaged intervertebral discs.
Publishing their advance in the journal Soft Matter, the researchers say that their new gels are durable and elastic and could potentially be used as implants.
Lead researcher Dr Brian Saunders, from the university's School of Materials, said: 'Our team has made a breakthrough through innovative materials design that brings the prospect of an injectable gel for treating degeneration of the intervertebral disc a step closer.'
The news follows a recent Canadian study in the Journal of Neuroscience, which found that treatment of chronic back pain can help to reverse the cognitive impairments, depression and anxiety that are commonly experienced by sufferers.
By performing MRI scans of patients before and after treatment, the researchers revealed that those whose treatment was effective typically showed improvements in pain-related abnormalities in the brain.