Lumbar degenerative disc disease – Overview and Causes

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.