Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease is common with aging and results from natural wear and tear caused by physical activity on the body and components of the spine.

What is Degenerative Disc Disease?

Ironically degenerative disc disease is not a disease at all. After the age of 40, discs typically begin to dry out and lose some of their elasticity. This is a normal part of aging. Our discs are the soft cushions between our vertebrae that allows our spine to move. As our disks degenerate, they lose height and some degree of motion, making the spine stiffer. This is because our discs dehydrate and develop small tears within them. 95% of people with disc degeneration have no problems whatsoever. It is typically not a painful condition.

What Causes Degenerative Disc Disease

Aging is the primary cause of degenerative disc disease. As much as you can expect your hair to grow gray eventually, you can expect that your discs will inevitably lose hydration. Aging results in the drying out of the discs; therefore, the discs in your back may no longer absorb the daily shocks the body experiences. Keep in mind that while everyone will experience disc degeneration over time, not everyone will experience pain.

Degenerative Disc Disease Symptoms

Associated symptoms of degenerative disc disease may include:

• Backache, episodic or constant
• Nerve compression resulting in numbness, tingling, weakness
• Neurogenic claudication that results in pain/cramping with walking distances. This pain is relieved by sitting.
• Pain with prolonged sitting, relieved by getting up and moving around

If you feel you are experiencing degenerative disc disease symptoms, you should seek care with your primary care doctor or consider consulting with a fellowship-trained spine surgeon.

Degenerative Disc Disease Conditions

Associated conditions of degenerative disc disease can include:

• Back pain
• Degenerative spondylolisthesis
• Degenerative scoliosis
• Spinal stenosis or narrowing of the spine, is also related to degenerative disc disease.
• Sciatica

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) and a bulging disc can be diagnosed at the same time, leaving some patients to question the difference between these two diagnoses. Basically, degenerative disc disease is an age-related condition that often can be a contributing cause or underlying reason for a bulging disc.

Diagnosing Degenerative Disc Disease

Your doctor will review your medical history and perform a thorough physical examination to diagnose degenerative disc disease. Radiologic imaging may be ordered by your physician including:

• MRI: best images the soft structures of your spine such as the discs, ligaments, and muscles
• X-rays: best for evaluating hard/bony structures
• CT scan as appropriate for hard/bony surfaces

At Hoag Orthopedic Institute, our fellowship-trained orthopedic spine doctors leverage a wide breadth of experience to help patients with degenerative disc disease find effective and targeted treatment for their unique condition, including herniated discs. Through accurate diagnoses made with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, we can identify the severity of disc displacement and the most appropriate course of treatment.

Degenerative Disc Disease Treatment

Degenerative disc disease is a very common, rarely painful condition that most often does not require treatment. If symptoms are present, your doctor may recommend some of the following non-operative degenerative disc disease treatments including:

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (if no risk factors)
• Acupuncture
• Exercise-based Physical Therapy, which specifically strengthens the extensor muscles of your back (the muscles that bend your back backwards). Hoag Orthopedic Institute Back to You Spine Rehabilitation program offers this back pain treatment.
• Spinal Injections: When appropriate your spine care provider may recommend spinal injections. This typically involves an injection of steroids in and around painful structures.

Rarely surgery may be indicated as a degenerative disc disease treatment. Most commonly, the goal of surgery is to relieve nerve compression or correct deformity. Our surgeons at a HOI are well versed in the latest minimally invasive surgical techniques. These procedures such as laminectomy, laminotomy, discectomy or fusion, are commonly performed in one of our ambulatory surgery centers. More substantial inpatient procedures are done at the Hoag Orthopedic Institute.

When to see a Spine Doctor for Degenerative Disc Disease

Most episodes of low back pain resolve uneventfully within six weeks, regardless of the treatment. If you are experiencing weakness or numbness, difficulty walking or bladder or bowel dysfunction, you should see a physician immediately. If your back pain from degenerative disc disease has not improved after six weeks, then you should seek care with a primary care physician or one of the spine care doctors at the Hoag Orthopedic Institute.

Hoag Orthopedic Institute Spine is committed to personalized care that helps patients find pain relief and improved mobility they need to lead more productive and enjoyable lives. Learn why more residents of Orange County trust our spine surgeons than any other hospital and why our award-winning, orthopedic-specialty hospital and surgery centers are continually recognized for our excellence.

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