5 Treatment Options to Reduce Cancer Pain
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Is Degenerative Disc Disease Inevitable as I Age?
Some things in life are inevitable, and aging certainly tops this list. Alongside inevitable aging is the wear-and-tear that accumulates in your body, and when it comes to your spine, it often shows up in your discs.
In terms of numbers, 30% of people will have some disc degeneration by the age of 35, and this jumps to a whopping 90% of people by the age of 60. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story.
For the complete picture, we turn to the team of spine health specialists here at Johnston Pain Management, who specialize in helping patients with symptomatic degenerative disc disease (DDD).
Disc degeneration — the backstory
Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae that are separated by 23 intervertebral discs. Each of these discs features a tough outer shell of cartilage fibers that’s called the annulus fibrosus. This shell surrounds the gel-like interior called the nucleus pulposus, which is 70%-90% water.
Your discs play a crucial role in your spine, acting as spacers between your vertebrae and as shock absorbers that transfer loads. The discs in the areas of your spine that experience the most movement — your lower back and your neck — work the hardest, and it’s in these discs that degeneration typically strikes first and most severely.
What we mean by degeneration is a loss of moisture, which leaves your discs more brittle and flatter. As a result, your vertebrae can move closer together, and disc materials can leak out and compress nearby nerves, which is what occurs when you have a herniated disc.
When degenerative disc disease develops
When we refer to DDD, we’re referring to when the degeneration in your discs leads to symptoms. And the good news is that only 5% of people with degeneration in their discs will develop DDD.
As you might imagine, the primary side effect of DDD is back pain or neck pain, which is often accompanied by pain that radiates down into the legs or arms, respectively. This pain often occurs as diseased discs start to pinch nerve roots along your spine or when bones start to rub together.
Treating degenerative disc disease
There’s much that we can do to manage the side effects — namely, pain — of degenerative disc disease, including:
- Over-the-counter medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Epidural injections
- Nerve blocks
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Physical therapy
- Lifestyle changes, such as weight loss
We often recommend these treatments in combination with each other. For example, we’ll do our part to alleviate your DDD pain, allowing you to focus on improving your spine health through back- and/or neck-strengthening exercises on your end. As well, if you’re carrying extra pounds, it’s a good idea to lose them as they can make your DDD symptoms worse.
If you suspect that you have degenerative disc disease or you’d like us to evaluate the health of your discs, please feel free to schedule a consultation at one of our three conveniently located offices in Jacksonville, Hampstead, or New Bern, North Carolina.
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