I Have Degenerative Disc Disease! What Do I Do?!
Whenever patients are diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), they immediately begin to panic because they hear the word “disease.” This week’s blog will introduce DDD, how you can prevent from getting it and how the chiropractor can help manage it.
What is Degenerative Disc Disease?
DDD is a condition of the spine and the disc spaces that basically begins decrease and degenerate over time and changes the structure of both bone and disc fluid. DDD can occur at the neck, upper/mid back and low back, but the low back is the most common area because it is the most weight bearing. DDD is diagnosed by both clinical presentation and diagnostic imaging such as x-rays or MRI that will show a few different findings indicating the condition. Symptoms include pain and stiffness when performing certain motions and radicular symptoms down the arms and/or legs do to the decreased disc and or/bone irritating the associated nerve root. So the next question is “How did you get it and how do you prevent it?”
How Did You Get It? How Do You Prevent It?
Most people will say that DDD is caused by old age. A high percentage of people who are elderly have DDD but that is not necessarily the true cause of the condition. Elderly individuals have been around the longest and have used their bodies a lot longer which is why we see a higher percentage of elderly patients with DDD. X-rays have shown spines in their 20s and 30s that look terrible and others taken into their 70s and 80s and look relatively healthy. The true cause is how much wear and tear individuals put on their body. The more stress there is on the body, the more degeneration and pain will be present. Essentially, microtraumas such as sitting at a desk all day, poor posture, living a sedentary lifestyle, and even being out of shape are amongst one of the top causes of DDD.
How The Chiropractor Can Help Manage Your Pain:
There are handful of different ways to treat DDD such as surgeries, spinal injections, medications and physical therapy, but chiropractic has also shown great results in treating this condition. Every chiropractor is different and may use a different approach in care. Here at Wilkins Spinal Care, we will provide a series light chiropractic adjustment to help realign the body to its original position. At our office, we also provide state of the art spinal decompression therapy to help with back pain, radicular symptoms and even failed back surgeries. Our decompression therapy has a special mechanism to rehydrate the disc and get you to a pain free level. Chiropractor has strong evidence of treating DDD and should be the first choice in your care over any other methods!
