People who smoke are at greater risk for developing degenerative disc disease, as are people who work in certain occupations. This condition can affect young adults who lead active lifestyles, but most of the time it occurs slowly and does not cause symptoms until later in life. ItВ’s not known why some people have pain and others donВ’t, but various factors contribute to disc degeneration including: genetic, environmental, autoimmune, inflammatory, and traumatic factors in combinations that arenВ’t yet understood. While a large portion of people with back pain have abnormalities confirmed by MRI, studies on healthy young adults have shown that as many as 30% of people without pain also have abnormalities that can be seen on an MRI scan.

Most disc abnormalities can be seen on an MRI scan. In addition to age and injury, arthritis and osteoporosis contribute to disc degeneration. But by the time you are 60, your discs may have dried out to the point that they cause less pain. People diagnosed in their 30s may wonder if their degenerative disc will cause even more pain by the time they are in their sixties. You may actually feel better if you walk or run rather than sit or stand for too long. Activities such as bending or twisting usually make your pain worse, and lying down tends to relieve the pain. Sitting usually causes the most pain because in this position your discs have more weight on them. These episodes last from a few days to a few months. You may have chronic underlying pain that is a nagging annoyance, and occasional episodes of intense muscle pain from time to time. You may also feel numbness or tingling in your leg and foot, which usually is not a cause for concern unless you have weakness in your leg muscles. ItВ’s often described as pressure or burning pain. Usually, the pain begins in the lower back, and may be felt in one or both of your legs and buttocks ( sciatica). (3) pain that starts gradually and gets progressively worse (2) a trivial injury followed by sudden back pain (1) a major injury followed by sudden and unexpected pain Many people with deterioration have no pain, while others may experience pain so intense that it interferes with daily activities.

The symptoms of a degenerative disc vary from person to person. Bone spurs and tears in the annulus may lead to herniated discs, pinched nerves and spinal stenosis. Drawing of a degenerative disc that is dried out and collapsed, reducing the disc space between vertebrae. This over-growth causes the spinal canal to narrow, which can compress the spinal cord and nerves causing pain (see Spinal Stenosis).ДЇigure 2.

Spinal canal narrows В– the added stress causes the ligaments and facet joints to enlarge (hypertrophy) as they try to compensate and spread the load over a larger area.

Pinched nerves may result in back or leg pain (sciatica). Excess motion В– abnormal rubbing adds stress to the facet joints.Bone spurs grow В– without the discs holding apart the vertebrae, they can rub on each other causing abnormal bone growths.Disc gets thinner - due to the loss of water, the discs get thin and the distance between vertebrae begin to collapse.Over time the proteins dry up, and the discs become stiffer. The tears also affect tiny nerves in the annulus and cause discogenic pain with small micro-motion instability of the disc. This material has inflammatory proteins that can irritate nerves and cause pain. Small tears occur in the annulus - sometimes the gel-like nucleus pushes through a tear in the wall and touches nearby nerves.As you get older it slowly loses water and flexibility, which puts more stress on the disc annulus. Discs dry out and shrink - the disc nucleus is made of about 80% water.Age-related changes to discs include (Fig. Discs have a limited blood supply, so once injured they canвЂ™t repair themselves easily. ItвЂ™s not actually a disease, but rather a condition in which your discs вЂњdegenerateвЂќ and lose their flexibility and height to cushion the spine. What is degenerative disc disease?Дegenerative disc disease (spondylosis) can occur in any area of the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar), but is most common in the low back. Drawing of a normal disc showing the gel-filled nucleus surrounded by annulus rings of cartilage fibers.

Stands above the rest synonym