Your spinal discs degenerate over time due to natural aging. Degeneration also occurs due to traumatic injuries to the spine and diseases like osteoarthritis. Speaking to a degenerative disc disease specialist can help you manage pain and other symptoms and treat the underlying condition. Here’s a look at the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for degenerative disc conditions:
Symptoms
The symptoms of degenerative disc disease range from neck and back pain to numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in your limbs. You can experience pain that comes and goes or pain that lasts for several weeks or months. The pain usually radiates down your arms, lower back, and buttocks, depending on the location of the affected disc.
Symptoms can also worsen when you sit, bend, twist, or lift items and feel better when you walk, run, or change position. The pain can also range from dull and nagging to disabling. Your pain medicine doctor can perform a medical history review, physical examination, and imaging tests like MRI, X-rays, and CT scans to show disc damage. Other diagnostics include nerve function tests and assessing pain levels and muscle strength.
Causes and Risk Factors
Degenerative disc conditions are primarily linked to aging and overuse because they stem from the natural deterioration of the shock-absorbing cushions in your body. The conditions can be progressive or rapid, and symptoms vary from mild discomfort to chronic pain. Degenerated discs are usually thinner and less elastic because they’ve lost some water. They’re also weaker and more likely to develop cracks and tears that can cause pain and stiffness.
Cracks and tears cause the gel-like material inside the disc to ooze out, resulting in bulging or herniated discs. Herniation compresses spinal nerves, causing pain, numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness. Risk factors for disc degeneration range from obesity to fall injuries, smoking, heavy lifting, and physically demanding jobs. Conditions such as arthritis and scoliosis and a family history of degenerative disc conditions also increase the risk of developing disc issues.
Types and Treatment Options
Degenerative disc conditions range from adult scoliosis, which occurs when your spine curves, to disc hernia and spinal stenosis. Hernia occurs when the disc ruptures, causing it to bulge or slip out of position. Spinal stenosis results from the spaces around your spine becoming narrow. Spondylolisthesis occurs when your vertebrae move in and out of place. Your pain medicine specialist can recommend various treatments, including physical therapy, pain management, and surgery for severe cases.
Home treatments include low-impact exercise, ice and heat packs, and regular stretching to relieve discomfort. Medication may help relieve pain and unpleasant symptoms, including slowing further deterioration. If non-invasive treatments don’t work, your doctor can recommend surgery to remove, repair, or replace the affected discs and tissues. Surgery results in long-lasting pain relief. Other interventional treatments include epidural injections, facet blocks, and radiofrequency ablations used to manage pain.
Speak to a Degenerative Disc Disease Specialist
Whether your condition is caused by aging or injury, you need experienced pain doctors to provide relief. You can also seek surgery to correct certain conditions, such as herniated discs. Speak to an experienced degenerative disc disease specialist today to find out more about your treatment options.