Does Everybody Experience Degenerative Disc Disease Sooner or Later?

Similar to your car’s shock absorbers, the discs between your vertebrae cushion and protect them. They also help support the structure of your spine and give it flexibility, allowing you to bend and twist. You’ve got 23 donut-shaped discs, each with a soft interior and a more rigid exterior.

When your discs give you problems, like herniation or a disc sprain or strain, you experience pain and mobility issues. A common disc condition that affects many people is degenerative disc disease. As its name indicates, the condition is progressive.

The committed provider team at Advanced Spine and Pain is highly invested in diagnosing and treating the source of your back pain, no matter what’s causing it. We approach each patient with sensitivity and create a customized treatment plan that provides relief and gets you moving freely and comfortably once again.

Degenerative disc disease: A nearly universal problem

The statistics surrounding degenerative disc disease may sound discouraging, but understanding the numbers can help you take preventive steps to care for your back or seek proper treatment if you’re experiencing symptoms of this condition.

The majority of people cope with degenerative disc disease at some point. Almost a third of people have evidence of degenerative disc disease by the time they’re 35 years of age, and by age 60, over 90% of people have symptoms.

But what exactly happens when you have degenerative disc disease? It simply means that your discs have worn down. When these cushions wear away, you’re at risk for a range of painful problems, including:

• A herniated disc: when the disc’s soft center bulges, pushing on the nerves or spinal cord
• Spondylolisthesis: when discs move from where they should be
• Adult scoliosis: when the spine curves
• Spinal stenosis: when the spaces surrounding your spine narrow

These conditions can cause debilitating pain and limit mobility. When the soft center of your disc starts to extend beyond where it should be — inside the disc — pressure on your nerves can affect any point on your back or neck. 

In addition to neck and back pain and movement challenges, you may also experience pain in your thighs and buttocks, numbness or a pins and needles sensation in your extremities, and pain that extends even to your arms and hands. You may also notice that your pain abates when you lay down or walk but worsens when you twist or sit down.

Is aging the only cause of degenerative disc disease?

No, even though aging is the most common cause of degenerative disc disease, it can also develop as the result of a traumatic event, like a fall or a car accident. 

Another frequent cause of this condition is work that requires repetitive movement. Even though playing sports is great for you in many ways, it can accelerate the wear and tear on your discs.

Specific lifestyle issues also increase your likelihood of being diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. These include being overweight or obese and smoking. Extra pounds stress your spine, and smoking stops important nutrients from reaching your discs and hampers blood flow to them. 

How to relieve degenerative disc disease symptoms 

Fortunately, your ASAP provider has treatments that can help you get back to being active and pain-free. 

Our philosophy is typically to start with conservative treatments, such as physical therapy and pain medications. Medications can provide pain relief, and working with your physical therapist can help with the nerve pressure that’s a hallmark of degenerative disc disease. Wearing a lumbar brace can also help, as it keeps your spine stable and still.

Sometimes, however, these treatments don’t provide enough relief. If this is the case, your doctor may recommend a minimally invasive treatment. Steroid injections directly into your lower back, known as facet injections, alleviate inflammation and bone irritation.

Another innovative noninvasive treatment your provider might suggest you consider is radiofrequency ablation. This treatment shocks your painful nerves with heated energy and provides long-term relief from degenerative disc disease discomfort.

In some cases, your provider may recommend surgery. We make every effort to perform minimally invasive surgery if you need a procedure. These procedures require just a few small incisions instead of a single longer one and are associated with quicker recovery, less pain, bleeding, and scarring, and reduced risk for infection after your procedure.

Don’t settle for sitting on the sidelines due to disc pain and other uncomfortable symptoms. Call one of our seven conveniently located suburban Maryland and Virginia offices to schedule an appointment to see a pain specialist, or book one online.