A few examples of these secondary conditions or complications are radiculopathy, myelopathy, urinary incontinence and/or frequency along with mental health conditions as well.
The condition occurs when the discs between vertebrae lose cushioning, fragment, and herniate. Many factors can lead to DDD, including heavy lifting, family history of spine problems, or spine injury. Military activities, like repeated heavy lifting, can result in degenerative disc disease over time.
It's important to look into worsening symptoms and secondary conditions that may have surfaced as a result of the degenerative disc disease. DDD can trigger other conditions including radiculopathy, herniated discs, neurological impairments, spinal stenosis, and more.
Some of the more common secondary conditions include depression, hypertension, chronic pain, skin sores, fractures, contractures, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, unwanted weight gain, excessive fatigue, and social isolation (Simeonsson & McDevitt, 1999).
Examples of chronic secondary pain are chronic pain related to cancer, surgery, injury, internal disease, disease in the muscles, bones or joints, headaches or nerve damage.
The average number of comorbidities among patients with CLBP was 3.5, and the average number among patients in the control group was 2.4. Overall, the most common comorbidities were hypertension (42.27%), lipid metabolism disorders (33.81%), rheumatoid arthritis (29.48%), obesity (25.74%), and joint arthritis (23.22%).
A secondary condition develops as the result of another medical condition, as opposed to developing on its own. Secondary conditions can essentially be thought of as complications from another condition. Consider the case of a man who suffers diabetes from Agent Orange exposure.
A primary disability is an injury, illness, or condition that develops as a result of military service. As mentioned, a secondary disability is a condition that develops later because of the primary disability. These secondary conditions can be more expensive than the primary conditions.
What Do Primary and Secondary Mean? In medicine, “primary” is used to describe a condition that's not caused by a different medical condition, while “secondary” means it is a consequence of another condition.
Degenerative Disc Disease is not life threatening, but if left untreated, can lead to debilitating pain, permanent damage, and serious conditions such as spinal osteoarthritis, herniated discs, spinal stenosis and potentially paralysis.
Degenerative disc disease can spread to other parts of the spine as they develop arthritis. Fortunately, most of the time, the symptoms are short-lived and could get better either on their own or with physical therapy and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications or other types of pain medications.
Whether or not your degenerative disc disease is classified as a disability will depend on the severity and frequency of your pain. Some with this condition find the pain bearable and sporadic enough to not interfere with their job duties. For others, the pain is recurrent and severe, resulting in long term disability.
Collapsing Stage (Stage 4)
In the final stage of DDD, the spinal discs become dangerously thin and may become herniated, collapsed, and/or disintegrated. The severe pain felt during this stage often results from bone rubbing against bone or from herniated discs pushing into nerves.
People with degenerative disk disease should avoid slouching and a sedentary lifestyle. They should also refrain from exercise or activities that are high impact or involve heavy lifting. Many people experience lower back pain due to degenerative disk disease.
A comorbid condition could become the primary condition. A secondary condition could improve. Changes need to be monitored and communicated as they happen with a clear understanding of what should happen next explained to all parties involved.
Differences Between a Primary and Secondary Source
Primary sources offer raw information, or the first-hand evidence compiled by research, whereas secondary sources interpret or analyze the information from primary sources.
The primary diagnosis is the root cause of the visit. The Secondary diagnosis/diagnoses, are the other conditions that were either present on admission & directly affect the care given for this visit or developed as a direct result of the Primary diagnosis.
Secondary conditions commonly occur as the result of service-connected orthopedic conditions. Examples of secondary conditions associated with neck pain include radiculopathy, due to a compressed nerve in the cervical spine, and migraine headaches.
Tracing back pain to an injury or event that occurred during a person's active duty service is the simplest way to establish a nexus. This can be done by referencing military service records. For many former servicemembers, injuries during strenuous training exercising are the cause of their chronic back pain.
For example, sleep apnea can be rated as a secondary condition to a Veteran's tinnitus. A condition being rated as secondary rather than primary can affect its disability rating — which also affects the benefits a Veteran may expect.
Common causes of chronic lower back pain
In general, osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis) and degenerative disk disease (the natural wear and tear of spinal disks) are the underlying cause of many types of chronic lower back pain.
Arthritis of the spine — the slow degeneration of the spinal joints — is the most frequent cause of lower back pain.
Importantly, specific medical comorbidities including hypothyroidism, smoking, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes have been linked to higher incidence of lumbar spine DDD.
Trigeminal neuralgia or tic douloureux is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal or fifth cranial nerve. It is one of the most painful conditions known.