M51.4Schmorl's nodes

M51.4 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for Schmorl's nodes. It belongs to category M51 (thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders), block M50-M54 (other dorsopathies) and chapter 13 (diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue). It is a header code, so it can't be reported by itself; one of its 4 subcodes must be used instead.

Within M51 (thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders), M51.4 is specifically for Schmorl's nodes. Related codes cover thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders with myelopathy (M51.0), thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy (M51.1), other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc displacement (M51.2), other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc degeneration (M51.3), other thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders (M51.8), unspecified thoracic, thoracolumbar and lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorder (M51.9) and other lumbar and lumbosacral annulus fibrosus disc defects (M51.A).

To report this condition, pick the subcode that matches the documentation: M51.44 (thoracic region), M51.45 (thoracolumbar region), M51.46 (lumbar region) and M51.47 (lumbosacral region).

It has been part of ICD-10-CM since the code set took effect on October 1, 2015 and hasn't changed since.