Complications of degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc disease requires prompt evaluation and treatment to reduce the risk of complications. Among the complications that may arise are bone spurs, spinal canal compression, pain, herniated discs, and bladder problems.
Is Degenerative Disc Disease Serious? 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.
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.
Risk Factors for Degenerative Disc Disease
Excessive strain on the low back caused by sports, frequent heavy lifting, or labor-intensive jobs. Strain on the lumbar spinal discs due to prolonged sitting and/or poor posture. Lack of support for the discs due to weak core muscles. Obesity.
Processed foods and excessive alcohol both lead to inflammation in your body, including in your spine. Inflammation can become chronic, especially when your food choices aren't the best.
Once a disc has degenerated, the degenerative process cannot be reversed. Instead of trying to rehabilitate the disc itself, treatment focuses on improving the health of surrounding structures, such as the spinal nerves, vertebral bones and joints, and supporting muscles and ligaments.
he main reason to perform more tests is if the symptoms are getting worse despite treatment, if the pain is severe or if you have signs of nerve damage — particularly nerve damage that is getting worse. The signs of worsening nerve damage would be increasing tingling or numbness, weakness and sometimes increasing pain.
While symptoms vary, they generally include pain along the cervical spine, neck, lumbar spine, or lower back. The pain often radiates throughout the arms, buttocks, and extremities. Fatigue can increase with prolonged periods of sitting, standing or walking.
The degenerative process of the spinal disc may start gradually or suddenly, but progresses over 2 to 3 decades from severe and at times even disabling bouts of pain to a state in which the spine is restabilized and the pain is diminished.
Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming, or taking a low-impact aerobics class, has been shown to help relieve pain, promote a healthy body weight, and improve overall strength and mobility—all important factors in managing DDD.
Can you live a normal life with degenerative disc disease? The answer is yes, even it forces you to be out of work for an extended amount of time. Do not give up. There are many methods of pain relief that you can do at home that can help you live a normal life.
Most experts say that occupations that are neither sedentary nor physically demanding give you the best chance of preventing or slowing degenerative spinal changes. If you are sedentary, you likely don't build a lot of muscle strength. But strong muscles may help take the pressure off your discs.
Most people's spinal discs degenerate over time. By the age of 35, approximately 30% of people will show evidence of disc degeneration at one or more levels. By the age of 60, more than 90% of people will show evidence of some disc degeneration.
For a vast majority of degenerative disc disease sufferers, the condition will eventually resolve itself. For a select few, however, the condition will continue to get worse and lead to reduced range of motion throughout the aging process.
New Surgical Option for Degenerative Disc Disease
The surgeon will remove your disc (a discectomy), and then insert an artificial disc in its place. The idea is that the artificial disc will keep your spine flexible and help you move more easily and with less pain.
Degenerative disc disease may cause back and/or leg pain, as well as functional problems such as tingling or numbness in your legs or buttocks, or difficulty walking.
If back or neck pain caused by degenerative disc disease doesn't respond to medication or therapeutic injections, NYU Langone doctors may recommend a surgical procedure. Surgeons may remove some or all of a damaged disc, take pressure off a pinched nerve, or eliminate movement between the bones of the spine.
Stage 3 is marked by a more extreme change in the posture and curvature of the spine, along with more pain and loss of mobility. Nerve damage is common and scar tissue typically begins to form. Discs are even thinner than before, which can sometimes cause even more deformation of the bones.
Yes. The phrase "degenerative changes" in the spine refers to osteoarthritis of the spine. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Doctors may also refer to it as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease.
Alternative and integrative health care professionals offer acupuncture and herbal therapies to help relieve symptoms of degenerative disc disease. Jason M. Highsmith, M.D. To treat your pain and other symptoms from degenerative disc disease, you could look into alternative treatments.
In addition to this, vitamin D is added to certain foods such as milk, orange juice, and cereals. If you still feel your natural vitamin D levels are not sufficient, supplements are an easy and fast way to boost the recommended daily amount of 600-800 IU.
Does Drinking Water Help with Degenerative Disc Disease? It does. Drinking water and keeping properly hydrated in general supports disc health, and the best way to help with degenerative disc disease is through prevention, including drinking water.
But among its side effects, caffeine can leech the calcium deposits in your bone and actively undermine your spinal health. If your diet is not very calcium- and vitamin D-rich to begin with, or if you have a family history of osteoporosis, consider reducing your caffeine intake and see if it helps.
Vitamin D inhibits NF-κB signaling pathways, reduces the level of inflammation and oxidative stress in the intervertebral disc, delays cell aging, and inhibits apoptosis. Therefore, vitamin D can greatly improve intervertebral disc degeneration.