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. Its 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).įigure 2. Spinal canal narrows 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 abnormal rubbing adds stress to the facet joints.Bone spurs grow 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 can’t repair themselves easily. It’s not actually a disease, but rather a condition in which your discs “degenerate” and lose their flexibility and height to cushion the spine. What is degenerative disc disease?ĭegenerative 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.
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