Degenerative
disc disease in the lower back or in the lumbar spine refers to a condition in
which a compromised disc leads to pain in the lower back. Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease affects millions of people across
the globe. Instead of avoiding initial signs, one should immediately consult an
orthopedic surgeon for timely treatment.
Although
there might be a genetic component for individuals suffering from, the true cause
for the condition might be multifactorial . It could be anything from traumatic
cause to simple wear and tear. However, degenerative disc disease of the Lumbar
spine rarely triggers from a major trauma like a car accident. In most cases,
it occurs due to low energy injury to the disc, which slowly progresses with
time.
The
disc does not have a blood supply, thus in case it sustains an injury, and it
cannot repair itself like other tissues present in the body. An otherwise
trivial injury to the disc can begin with a degenerative cascade in which the
disc wears out. Irrespective its rather
dramatic explanations as well as a label, DDD, degenerative disc disease is
extremely common, and as per studies conducted, it has been found that near
about 30 percent of people aged between thirty and fifty years suffers from
some kind of disc space degeneration. However, not all patients suffer from
pain or even get a formal diagnosis done. As a matter of fact, after a person
reaches sixty years of age, diagnosis of some degree of disc degeneration is
normal.
Causes of Lumbar Herniated Disc
The
lower back pain which surfaces from lumbar
degenerative disc disease occurs from either one or both sources.
Abnormal micro-motion, instability – It is a condition in
which outer rings of the discs known as the annulus fibrous are completely worn
down and fails to absorb the stress on spine in an effective way, causing
movement alongside the vertebral segment.
Inflammation- In this, proteins in the
disc space cause irritation in the surrounding nerves – both the larger nerves
that go down to the legs and the smaller nerve located within the space on the disc
Excessive
micro motion when comes together with inflammatory proteins, can cause constant
pain in the lower back. Fortunately, over
the period of time, pain triggering from lumbar
degenerative disc disease ultimately reduces, instead of becoming worse. The
main reason for this is that fully degenerated disc disease no longer carries
any inflammatory proteins responsible for pain. In fact, they collapse into a
much stable position, eliminating micro motion responsible for generating
pain.
It
is due to this procedure that even those patients who experience severe pangs
of pain along with frequent flare-ups in their mid-forties might discover that
their lower back pain almost vanishes completely by the time they reach sixties.
Irrespective
of the cause because of which you suffer from Lumbar Herniated Disc, consulting orthopedic surgeon like Dr. Erik Bendiks can help you get timely as well as an effective treatment. Owing to his
experience and expertise, he recommends treatment after thoroughly examining a
patient, which paves way for quick recovery.
The lumbar
degenerative disc disease has affected millions of people across the globe. Proper
care and treatment can pave way for quick recovery.
