In many cases, chiropractic treatment is still an option. Your chiropractor manipulates your spine to improve the alignment of the bones and discs. This can help relieve pain from degenerative disc disease, and improve mobility and flexibility.
Chiropractic care is a preferred treatment option for degenerative disc disease for a variety of reasons. Because it is gentle and non-invasive, chiropractic is much less likely to create undesirable side effects—which are common with prescription medications and surgery.
Physical therapy: Participating in strengthening and stretching exercises with a trained healthcare provider. Medications: Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), muscle relaxers or steroids. Steroid injections: Injecting medicine near your spinal nerves, disk or joints to reduce inflammation and pain.
People with degenerative disk disease should avoid slouching and a sedentary lifestyle. They should also refrain from exercise or activities that are high impact or involve heavy lifting. Many people experience lower back pain due to degenerative disk disease.
If the diagnosis is a degenerative disease, your orthopedic surgeon will provide you with a treatment plan to improve function and relieve pain. For many people, at-home and minimally invasive treatments work well to control back pain.
For a vast majority of degenerative disc disease sufferers, the condition will eventually resolve itself. For a select few, however, the condition will continue to get worse and lead to reduced range of motion throughout the aging process.
Degenerative Disc Disease doesn't improve over time and, unfortunately, there is no cure. If you're experiencing symptoms, don't ignore them. There's no need to suffer, especially when there are many pain management treatments and minimally invasive procedures that can exponentially increase your quality of life.
Risk Factors for Degenerative Disc Disease
Excessive strain on the low back caused by sports, frequent heavy lifting, or labor-intensive jobs. Strain on the lumbar spinal discs due to prolonged sitting and/or poor posture. Lack of support for the discs due to weak core muscles. Obesity.
Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming, or taking a low-impact aerobics class, has been shown to help relieve pain, promote a healthy body weight, and improve overall strength and mobility—all important factors in managing DDD.
Alternative and integrative health care professionals offer acupuncture and herbal therapies to help relieve symptoms of degenerative disc disease. Jason M. Highsmith, M.D. To treat your pain and other symptoms from degenerative disc disease, you could look into alternative treatments.
Degenerative disc disease
Sleeping on the stomach is typically preferred, as this position can relieve pressure on the disc space. People with degenerative disc disease may feel most comfortable using a relatively firm mattress while placing a flat pillow under the stomach and hips.
Massage therapy is a great way to reduce muscle tension and alleviate pain and other symptoms caused by DDD. Using therapeutic massage, practitioners can apply carefully targeted pain and tension relief where patients need it the most.
If you are experiencing muscle or soft tissue pain from your degenerative disc disease, massage therapy may be able to help. Massage therapy involves kneading the tight and sore spots out of your muscles, which further helps reduce pain while promoting blood flow to the muscles.
Most people's spinal discs degenerate over time. By the age of 35, approximately 30% of people will show evidence of disc degeneration at one or more levels. By the age of 60, more than 90% of people will show evidence of some disc degeneration. Degeneration itself is normal, and does not necessarily cause pain.
Processed foods and excessive alcohol both lead to inflammation in your body, including in your spine. Inflammation can become chronic, especially when your food choices aren't the best.
he main reason to perform more tests is if the symptoms are getting worse despite treatment, if the pain is severe or if you have signs of nerve damage — particularly nerve damage that is getting worse. The signs of worsening nerve damage would be increasing tingling or numbness, weakness and sometimes increasing pain.
Can you live a normal life with degenerative disc disease? The answer is yes, even it forces you to be out of work for an extended amount of time. Do not give up. There are many methods of pain relief that you can do at home that can help you live a normal life.
Degenerative disc disease is an important cause of LBP in the elderly. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely ordered by physicians in evaluation of patients with suspected degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine.
Most experts say that occupations that are neither sedentary nor physically demanding give you the best chance of preventing or slowing degenerative spinal changes. If you are sedentary, you likely don't build a lot of muscle strength. But strong muscles may help take the pressure off your discs.
Does Drinking Water Help with Degenerative Disc Disease? It does. Drinking water and keeping properly hydrated in general supports disc health, and the best way to help with degenerative disc disease is through prevention, including drinking water.
Step 1: Lie flat on your back with your arms and legs stretched out. Step 2: Now carefully raise your right knee up and toward your chest. Keep your other leg straight. Step 3: Grab your raised knee with both hands and gently pull it higher toward your chest.
Ask About Stairs
But walking up stairs may not be the best exercise for some people with low back pain, especially older adults and those with knee problems. So before you head for the stairwell, ask your doctor whether taking the stairs is the right option for you.