Degenerative Disk Disease

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of back pain and neck pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. This condition is not actually a disease -- it is part of the normal aging of the spine. In this condition, the discs in the spine (the pillow-like pads between the bones) lose their cushioning. When this happens, it can cause persistent pain in the lower back, legs, neck or arms. Treatments for pain caused by degenerative disc disease can include medications and physical therapy. Sometimes surgery is needed if the pain is severe and causes a person the inability to participate in everyday activities

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. Many patients diagnosed with low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease are left wondering exactly what this diagnosis means for them. Common questions that are often on patients’ minds include:

If I have low back pain from degenerative disc disease in my thirties, how much worse will it become with age?

Will the degenerative disc disease become a crippling condition? Will I end up in a wheelchair?

Should I restrict my activities?

Can I still play sports?

Will the degenerative disc disease spread to other parts of the spine?

Will the low back pain from degenerative disc disease cause any permanent damage?

Types of pain from degenerative disc disease

Most patients with degenerative disc disease will have some underlying chronic low back pain, with intermittent episodes of severe low back pain. The exact cause of these severe episodes of pain is not known, but it has been theorized that it is due to abnormal micro-motion in the degenerated disc that spurs an inflammatory reaction. In an attempt to stabilize the spine and decrease the micro-motion, the body reacts to the disc pain with muscle spasms. The reactive spasms are what make patients feel like their back has "gone out".

The severe episodes of low back pain from degenerative disc disease will generally last from a few days to a few months before the patient goes back to their baseline level of chronic pain. The amount of chronic pain is quite variable and can range from a nagging level of irritation to severe and disabling pain, although severe, disabling pain is quite rare.

In addition to low back pain from degenerative disc disease, there may be leg pain, numbness and tingling. Even without pressure on the nerve root (a "pinched nerve"), other structures in the back can refer pain down the rear and into the legs. The nerves can become sensitized with inflammation from the proteins within the disc space and produce the sensation of numbness/tingling. Generally, the pain does not go below the knee.

These sensations, although worrisome and annoying, rarely indicate that there is any ongoing nerve root damage. However, any weakness in the leg muscles (such as foot drop) is an indicator of some nerve root damage.