Embodiments of the current invention provide minimally invasive methods for interbody fusion. In one aspect, the invention relates to a method of treating a patient that includes the steps of introducing a channel-forming instrument into a first vertebra, forming a channel through an endplate of the first vertebra and into a nucleus of an adjacent intervertebral disc without penetrating an annulus of the disc, and supplying a therapeutic agent to the nucleus of the disc via the channel.
