1. INFORMATION ON DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE AND
TREATMENT
Lower back pain is one of the most common health issues people deal with. Old people are
most likely to have lower back issues for the very fact that they are old. But even the young
aren’t spared of the problem. One of the most common causes of lower back pain is the
Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) also called as Degenerative Disc Disorder. Because of such
a hefty and serious name, most of the patients diagnosed with lower back pain caused by
degenerative disc disease are left wondering what exactly the diagnosis means and how
serious the issue is because the term sounds like a threatening condition which is also
progressive.
Fortunately, Degenerative Disc Disease is neither a diseases nor is it strictly degenerative.
The term “degenerative” does not at all imply to the symptoms getting worse. The term
applies to disc degenerating. However, the disc degeneration is likely to progress over time,
but if degenerative disc disease and treatment is taken, the lower back pain from the disorder
usually doesn’t get worse. As a matter of fact, it gets better.
Disc Degeneration is common as we grow old. But it can also be seen as a result of trauma,
surgery or bad genetics. While most of the patients can handle their ongoing pain as well as
the more painful burst outs with conservative or non-surgical care, there is still a small
percentage of patients for whom degenerative disc disease and treatment (surgery) becomes
the right option for in some cases severe pain and muscle spasms make it difficult for the
people to functional normally. Sometimes, after the disc has completely degenerated, the
ongoing pain resides but the process takes years and is highly variable. For severe disabling
pain, when it is virtually impossible to wait for the results from non-surgical therapy, surgery
for degenerative disc disease – either a standard fusion surgery or the newer artificial disc
replacement surgery is warranted.