BACKGROUND: Back pain after intervertebral disc (IVD) injury is a common clinical problem. Previous work examining early molecular changes post injury mainly used a candidate marker approach. METHODS: In this study, gene expression in the injured and intact mouse tail IVDs was determined with a nonbiased whole transcriptome approach and related to subsequent pain behavior. Mouse tail IVD injury was induced by a needle puncture. Whole murine transcriptome was determined by RNASeq. Transcriptomes of injured IVDs were compared with those of intact controls by bioinformatic methods. Mechanical allodynia was assessed by the Von Frey method. RESULTS: Among the 17,722 murine genes with meaningful expressions, 7242 genes were differentially expressed ( CONCLUSION: The RNASeq data revealed numerous early genes that participate in inflammation and repair processes post IVD injury. Mechanical allodynia followed these gene expression changes.