M51 — Thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders
Not billable
Is M51 billable?
No — M51 is a non-billable header code. M51 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 36 billable codes beneath M51.
Billable codes under this header
- M51.9Unspecified thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorder
- M51.04Intervertebral disc disorders with myelopathy, thoracic region
- M51.05Intervertebral disc disorders with myelopathy, thoracolumbar region
- M51.06Intervertebral disc disorders with myelopathy, lumbar region
- M51.14Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, thoracic region
- M51.15Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, thoracolumbar region
- M51.16Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, lumbar region
- M51.17Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, lumbosacral region
- M51.24Other intervertebral disc displacement, thoracic region
- M51.25Other intervertebral disc displacement, thoracolumbar region
- M51.26Other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbar region
- M51.27Other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbosacral region
- M51.34Other intervertebral disc degeneration, thoracic region
- M51.35Other intervertebral disc degeneration, thoracolumbar region
- M51.44Schmorl's nodes, thoracic region
- M51.45Schmorl's nodes, thoracolumbar region
- M51.46Schmorl's nodes, lumbar region
- M51.47Schmorl's nodes, lumbosacral region
- M51.84Other intervertebral disc disorders, thoracic region
- M51.85Other intervertebral disc disorders, thoracolumbar region
- M51.86Other intervertebral disc disorders, lumbar region
- M51.87Other intervertebral disc disorders, lumbosacral region
- M51.A0Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, lumbar region, unspecified size
- M51.A1Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, small, lumbar region
- M51.A2Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, large, lumbar region
- M51.A3Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, lumbosacral region, unspecified size
- M51.A4Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, small, lumbosacral region
- M51.A5Intervertebral annulus fibrosus defect, large, lumbosacral region
- M51.360Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region with discogenic back pain only
- M51.361Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region with lower extremity pain only
- M51.362Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region with discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain
- M51.369Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region without mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain
- M51.370Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region with discogenic back pain only
- M51.371Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region with lower extremity pain only
- M51.372Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region with discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain
- M51.379Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region without mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain
M51 at a glance
| Code | M51 |
|---|---|
| Description | Thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders |
| Billable | No — header code |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Excludes2 — not included here
The conditions below are not part of M51, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, M51 and the excluded code may both be reported.
Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from M50-M54
The conditions below can never be reported together with M51 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- current injury - see injury of spine by body region
- discitis NOS (M46.4-)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 13
The conditions below are not part of M51, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, M51 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- arthropathic psoriasis (L40.5-)
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- compartment syndrome (traumatic) (T79.A-)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
What codes fall under M51? (8)
- M51.0Thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders with myelopathynot billable
- M51.1Thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathynot billable
- M51.2Other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc displacementnot billable
- M51.3Other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc degenerationnot billable
- M51.4Schmorl's nodesnot billable
- M51.8Other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disordersnot billable
- M51.9Unspecified thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorder
- M51.AOther lumbar and lumbosacral annulus fibrosus disc defectsnot billable
How long has M51 existed?
M51 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.
Which codes are confused with M51?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with M51 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.