Concerned About Degenerative Disc Disease?
Spinal Correction by Krawiec
Age brings with it many irritating illnesses, some that can be treated and some that cannot. One such malady is known as degenerative disc disease.
Cause and Symptoms
Degenerative disc disease is basically a deterioration of certain parts of the spine. If left untreated, it can cause acute pain and diminish an individual’s quality of life.
The symptoms that occur include acute pain in the lower back area that radiates to the hips and into the butt as well as the thighs. The pain is even more where there is excruciating while walking. One can also feel a slight twinge in the knees, the hands and even the fingers accompanied by pain in the neck, shoulders, arms, jaw etc.
Other symptoms that can happen are a feeling of dizziness, lack of memory, acute headaches and vertigo.
More Observations On Degenerative Disc Disease
The first treatment your doctor will recommend, will most likely be one to relieve the awful pain and even immobility if those are your symptoms of degenerative disc disease. This step is necessary when you can’t just live with this pain.
Degenerative disc disease in neck is not actually a disease at all. It’s a process that happens to everyone with aging . The spinal discs go through natural changes as we age. Degeneration of the disc usually happens in the lumbar area or in the neck, but it can occur anywhere along the spine.
The most common symptom of degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is low back pain (lumbalgia). If the cervical spine is affected, the most common symptom is neck pain (cervicalgia). When degenerative disc disease causes compression of the cervical nerve roots there may be shoulder pain, arm pain, and pain in the hand/fingers (neuritis, neuralgia, radiculitis), and may be associated with numbness and tingling (paresthesia). When degenerative disc disease causes compression of the lumbar nerve roots there may be butt pain, hip pain, leg pain, and pain in the foot/toes. This often is accompanied by muscle weakness in either the arm or leg.
Degenerative Disc Disease in neck is a loss of height of the disc and combining multiple treatment approaches together in order to decompress and generate balance and stability in the spine is very important for long term results.
When a person has been informed that she or he has a degenerative disease, it can play havoc in the mind, even if it is an age-related illness. At times, one may have to give up on certain activities – like riding a bike, carrying heavy weights, etc. A pregnant woman with this illness may have to go through a sedentary pregnancy or if it causes damage to her back, may be advised to terminate.
Diagnosis and Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease
The diagnosis of the illness is generally first based on the symptoms of the patient. An MRI or an x-ray is usually ordered by an orthopedic specialist to confirm the symptoms. Once it has been determined that the patient has the problem, the next step is treatment and to get the person back on track both in mind and body.
Treatment is usually based on the extent of the illness and most often pain relievers are recommended. Physical therapy and a mild form of exercise are also encouraged along with a diet plan.
For a patient who is extremely vigorous with her or his exercise schedule, there may have to be a change in regards to the weights or extent of exercise on a daily basis. The objective is not to stop the process entirely, but to deal with staying healthy and keeping the spine as fit as possible. Such limitations maybe necessary to prevent additional damage to the vertebrae.
There are other options as well, based on the extent of the disease. If it has reached a serious stage, where the patient has not found any relief after medication and physical therapy, then surgery may be the next option. This invasive treatment is suggested only when urgently required, i.e., if the patient has not been able to deal with day-to-day activities and the pain has been increasing in spite of the pain killers, etc.
Good news though… As mentioned above, a patient suffering from disc problems was usually given pain medications or injections, instructed to refrain from physical activities, referred for physical therapy, and when they weren’t progressing they were sent for spinal surgery or simply told to learn to live it.
Since 2001, when the FDA finally approved non-surgical spinal decompression therapy, there is new hope for those who suffer from degenerative disc disease. Spinal Decompression Therapy is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment performed on a special, computer controlled table similar in some ways to an ordinary traction table. A single disc level is isolated and by utilizing specific traction and relaxation cycles throughout the treatment, along with proper positioning, negative pressure can actually be created within the disc.
It works by gently separating the offending disc 5 to 7 millimeters creating negative pressure (or a vacuum) inside the disc to pull water, oxygen, and nutrients into the disc, thereby re-hydrating a degenerated disc and bringing in the nutrients needed to heal the torn fibers and halt the degenerative process. As the disc is re-hydrated the shock absorbing properties are restored and a normal life can be resumed. This maybe the option that will work for you.
At the end of the day, life is based on doing what one can handle. When treating problems such as degenerative disc disease, the goal is to maintain or even increase, if possible, what one can do.
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