Degenerative Disc Disease, Disc Bulge & Disc Herniation
 All three of these conditions involve the intervertebral discs. Those are the pillow-like cushions between your vertebrae in your spine. They help your back carry weight and allow complex motions of the spine while maintaining stability. As you age, the discs can lose flexibility, elasticity, and shock absorbing characteristics. They also become thinner as they dehydrate. When all that happens, the discs change from a supple state that allows fluid movement to a stiff and rigid state that restricts your movement and causes pain.
Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is typically associated with aging of a poorly functioning spine and comes on the earliest of the three. When a vertebrae gets fixed or subluxated it does not function the way that it is suppose to. The longer two vertebrae that form a joint, continue to move irregularly the more a disc dehydrates making it dehydrate so that your body can create some motion. This makes the cross weaved fibers on the outer layer of the disc open up, creating small openings. This progresses until a small incident, causes a part of the disc to protrudes out causing a disc bulge, or if the outer layer of the disc tears when it bulges it becomes a disc herniation.
If you have chronic back or neck pain, you may have degenerative disc disease. It commonly occurs in your low back (lumbar spine) or neck (cervical spine). Developing degenerative disc disease is a gradual process. As you can see in the illustration, there are many stages and states your discs can go through as part of DDD. They can bulge, herniate, dehydrate, or wedge. In some cases the disc irritates the nerve root which is one of many potential causes of leg or arm symptoms such as neuropathy or sciatica. Because of disc changes, your vertebrae can be affected as you can see this in the illustration. In advanced cases, bone spurs (osteophytes) can form as your spine tries to adjust to the intervertebral disc changes.
So if you are looking for a new perspective, a second opinion, or an alternative solution to your aches and pains, pick up the phone and call 970.491.9191 right now!
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