Degenerative Disc Disease

Your Health

It’s not only old people who can have back pain.  Degenerative disc disease can appear in people as young as 20.  Chronic neck or back pain can result from this condition, which is not really a disease, but the result of wear and tear on your spine.

A healthy spine has discs – shock-absorbing cushions, if you will – between the vertebrae, the individual bones that make up the spine.  Over time, discs can bulge, then or become herniated.  Common symptoms include pain when sitting ofr a long time, bending, twisting or lifting,  Pain is relieved when reclining, when positions change frequently and when walking or running.  If pain gets worse or if you start to experience numbness, weakness or tingling in your legs, you should seek immediate help.  An extreme symptom of degenerative disc disease could be loss of bower or bladder control.

At the first sign of any sort of back pain you should make an appointment for a chiropractic examination.  Misaligned vertebrae can exacerbate the symptoms of degenerative disc disease.  Keeping your spine in alignment through chiropractic adjustment is one way to alleviate some of the pain of degenerative disc disease.