What you Need to Know About Disc Degeneration

It is a known fact that the bones and joints in your body will start to get weak at some point in your life. When you reach the age of 60, or even 50 for some, you will start to feel pain in several parts of your body – including your lower back – that can be excruciating and unbearable. It is important to note, however, that elderly people are also at risk of developing the condition known as disc degeneration.

What Is Disc Degeneration?

Disc degeneration occurs when the discs, which support the spine, is damaged or broken due to old age, injury or certain diseases. This condition is characterized by your leg being a little numb and your lower back area feeling constant pain. This condition is actually fairly common.

However, not all people who have disc degeneration are aware of their situation because a damaged or broken disc per se does not cause pain or other obvious symptoms. You will only feel pain when your problematic discs are ruptured or abnormally pushed out. This condition is what we call herniated disc, which is commonly known as slip disc.

Causes of Disc Degeneration

Majority of cases of disc degeneration are due to the normal wear and tear of the bones and joints. These discs act as support and shock absorber of the vertebral column. Eventually, through much use, some discs on your spine will start to get weak and damaged.

Another common cause of disc problems is injury. Putting sudden pressure on your lower back from lifting heavy objects, accidents, prolonged or frequent exposure to vibration or simply picking up something on the floor can cause slip disc.

Who Are At Risk Of Experiencing Disc Degeneration?

As mentioned earlier, everybody can be a candidate for such a condition. However, there are some individuals who are more prone or susceptible to breaking or injuring such discs.

Old People

The bones, joints and the fluids in-between the vertebrae of old people are getting weaker and smaller by the day. Naturally, they are the prime candidates for slip discs. However, the older you get, the more difficult it will be for you to recover from slip disc. Septuagenarians who fall and end up injuring their spine will find it very hard to get over their vertebral problems.

Athletes

Both professional and amateur athletes are equally prone to getting slip disc because of exerting too much effort in practicing or perfecting their performances. Moreover, athletes usually push their bodies to the limit, so the normal wear and tear process of bones and joints are much faster for them than the average Joes.

Obese And Overweight Individuals

One of the reasons why it is important to maintain your ideal body weight is because your bones and muscles end up overworking themselves when your body is carrying too much load. The same is true with your discs. The heavier you get, the more prone you will be at getting spine injuries because your body is finding it hard to carry your weight.

Treatment Options

Surgery

Individuals whose discs are heavily fragmented or disintegrated are advised to undergo surgery. In such cases, metal plates will be inserted and used to replace problematic discs. However, if your disc problem is not really serious, you may want to consider other options.

Nor-surgical Treatments

In most cases, people who have herniated discs recover in about one to six months through physical therapy and proper exercise. If you have herniated disc, the first thing that you have to do is rest. After a few days, you should start moving and getting out of the bed to strengthen the muscles that hold and support your spine. However, you should still take it easy on your movements and avoid strenuous activities until you your physician says otherwise.

Since pain is a common complaint from people whose discs have been ruptured, painkillers are often prescribed. However, you should not get too dependent on taking pain medications because prolonged use of these pills can cause severe side effects.

Lastly, rehabilitation of the herniated discs is important in ensuring that your condition is completely healed. Exercise, physical therapy and supplements are important during the recovery stage. You need to eat healthy and take products that will help strengthen your bones, ease pain and replenish the fluid between the discs. Products like Phosoplex can help you recover from disc degeneration or herniated disc. You can find out more about this product by visiting www.Phosoplex.com.

About the Author

Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.healthnfitnesszone.com.

Artificial Disc Replacement: The Patient’s Perspective (Rehearsal)

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You are experiencing lower back pain…is it herniated disc symptoms or another type of lower back pain?

First you should try to examine how the pain is distributed throughout your body. Your back pain symptoms should be carefully examined in order to be diagnosed correctly. Back pain can sometimes be caused by a large number of injuries or conditions, making a proper diagnosis both difficult and critical.

There are basically three categories of lower back pain:

1. Axial back pain is confined to the lower back area and doesn’t radiate out to other areas of the body. It has many causes like disc degeneration or back muscles damage, damaged tendons or ligaments.  Herniated Disc Treatment does include physical therapy, targeted exercise, rest, both cold and hot compresses, ointments and pain medications.

2. Referred lower pack pain often spreads to the other parts of the body and is mostly caused by back muscles damage, disc degeneration, damage done to the tendons or ligaments similar to Axial pain. Treatment would include medication and physical therapy for up to eight weeks. Resting your back and using hot and cold packs are often administered as well.

3. Radicular or commonly known as sciatica. It is caused by pressure on the lower spinal nerves. Pain often times spreads as far as legs and thighs. Because sciatic nerve spreads all the way to the calf including thighs, it is extremely affected by this pressure. It often causes stronger leg than back pain. The causes for this can be herniated disc that is pressuring the nerve, narrowing of the nerve passage, nerve injury or in some cases diabetes. Sciatica is usually treated with medication and physical therapy for up to eight weeks, similar to the referred lower back pain. In some instances if the pain does not subside by then, it can be relieved by surgical procedure.

In conclusion, although most patients have some degree of axial back pain, this may not be the chief complaint or problem. Patients with a simple muscle strain or lumbar ligament sprain will often have only isolated back pain and spasm. Herniated disc symptoms are a little more complex. Patients having a large herniated disc with spinal nerve compression, may have severe radiating leg pain with little or no back pain.

Verona Raymond gets results when dealing with herniated disc pain. Learn her secret to eliminate herniated disc pain and get her 7 step action plan. To receive your own free 7 step action plan, visit: http://www.herniated-disc-treatment.com

Herniated disc not easily diagnosed
Back injuries are very serious and sometimes hard for a doctor to diagnose. One type of injury is a herniated disc. This is when the Cartilage, which is the spongy material that acts as a [...]

Treatments For Herniated Discs – Helpful Tips For Fast Relief
Treatment for a back disc can be pretty discouraging, because most of the treatments available through typical medical methods only provide temporary relief.

Technorati Tags: herniated disc diagnosis, herniated disc l4, herniated disc replacement

Herniated Disc Surgery or discectomy is a surgery that is performed to remove a herniated spinal canal disc. The surgery becomes essential when the spinal canal is affected due to a fragment of the normal disc getting dislodged…

The excruciating pain that accompanies the dislodging of a disc of the spinal canal is not something that can be put into words. Most patients with the irregularity opt for Herniated disc surgery. The urgency arises out of the fragment of dislodged disc pressing against the spinal cord. Many a time, it even stresses nerves that surround the spinal cord. The pressure exerted leads to the manifestation of symptoms like back and leg pain and weakness of muscles.

Reason for Discomfort

A herniated disc is the result of a shift in the ‘cushion’ that occupies the space between the spinal vertebrae. When this gets pushed out of its normal position, it is diagnosed as a herniated disc. Spinal discs have nerves located very close to the edges. When, with age, the spinal disc becomes less elastic, it ruptures. The herniated disc bulge pinches the spinal nerves and spinal cord.

Any kind of pressure or stress to these nerves or shift in position of the sensitively located disc develops the need to consider herniated disc surgery. The condition could be the outcome of a nasty fall or an accident. It is also observed in the case of repetitive and neglected straining on the spine. A previous condition of stenosis of spine also results in a herniated disc.

Preliminary Tests

The herniated disc surgery involves a number of preliminary tests to determine the extent to which the spinal disc is dislodged. Clinical research helps to find out more about the rigidity of the region that sets in with age. The MRI scan is conducted to display evidence of disc deterioration. Though it is a condition that is normally seen in aged people, patients as young as 30 have also been diagnosed with herniated disc.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a herniated spinal disc manifest mainly due to the compression of the spinal nerves. This results in occasional passing through of abnormal signals or no signals at all. The symptoms commonly associated with a herniated disc include:

• Electric shock pains: These are especially experienced when the stress on the nerves occurs in the cervical region and the lumbar. The excruciating pain can be felt in the arms and down the legs.
• Abnormal sensations and muscle weakness: Patients report tingling and sometimes numbness in the limbs. On account of the nerve irritation and subsequent interruption of brain signals, muscle weakness is observed.

If left neglected, the condition could worsen into the Cauda Equina Syndrome. This medical emergency results in problems with urination and bowel movements.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of a herniated disc involves physical examination. Tests are conducted for measuring sensations, muscle strength and reflexes. An MRI is conducted to highlight the abnormality. The diagnosis and treatment plan largely depend on the results of the physical examination and MRI.

Herniated Disc Surgery

The surgical treatment involves the careful removal of the dislodged fragment of spinal disc. The pressure on the nerve is released via discectomy. In Open Discectomy, the surgeon makes a small incision of about 3 centimeters, to re-lodge the herniated disc and relieve the pressure on the nerve. The operation lasts an hour, depending on the extent of damage.

The surgery demands the use of special instruments to remove bone and ligament via Laminotomy. Thereafter, the spinal nerves are focused on for life and de-stress, with the removal of the herniated disc fragment. The surgeon is at this point in time in a position to take a call on the condition of the remaining disc. On cleaning out the region, the incision is bandaged.

Endoscopic Discectomy involves the use of special instruments and a camera to remove the herniated disc. In this case the incisions are very small. The procedure accomplishes the same goal, but here the surgeon uses a camera to locate the fragment and the procedure may not require general anesthesia.

Recovery

The previous symptoms like leg pain dissipate after a number of weeks, post surgery. Pain around the incision made is natural and controlled with oral medication. Patients are not encouraged to stay in hospital beyond a day.

Doctors do recommend the use of a lumbar corset brace sometimes. Recovery from Herniated Disc Surgery is best when the patient exercises caution in movements after the surgery.

Emergency: Artificial Cervical Herniated Disc Replacement
Artificial Cervical Herniated Disc Replacement. The standard surgical procedure for cervical herniated discs is Spinal Fusion Surgery. Bone grafts, metal plates and screws are used to fuse or bring together two or more vertebrae. 

Surgery for a Thoracic Herniated Disc
Typically, these symptoms occur following an acute traumatic disc herniation with myelopathy. The surgery to address these symptoms, called a decompression, is designed to take the pressure off the spinal cord or nerve root.

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