Spine degeneration can be caused by spondylosis, or spinal osteoarthritis. This condition can cause damage to the bones, nerves and intervertebral discs of the vertebral column. Dr. John J. Regan, an orthopedic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Calif. advises that degenerative spine disease normally occurs due to aging or autoimmune arthritis and varies among individuals. Symptoms can affect the neck, mid-back or lower back areas. In severe cases of degenerative spine disease, chronic pain and loss of nervous functions can occur.
Pain
The most common and earliest symptom of degenerative disc disease is pain and tenderness in the back, buttocks and upper thighs. Spine degeneration can compress, pinch and damage nerves causing radiating, chronic or referred pain. Pain can be caused by direct damage to the vertebrae as well as injury to back nerves, ligaments and muscles of the back. Motions such as twisting, rotating and bending the back may worsen or initiate severe pain.
Numbness
Sensations of numbness or tingling can be caused by spinal degeneration. Spondylosis can lead to foraminal stenosis, or narrowing of the nerve canals of grooves in the vertebrae, as described in "The Spine Journal." In sciatica, nerve damage causes numbness in the lower back, buttock and legs. Nerve damage is also common in the cervical spine of the neck and upper back.
Muscle Weakness
Spinal nerve damage can cause loss of motor and sensory nerve function in the muscles of the body. This causes weakness, a loss of motor skills or slowed relexes in the affected region. Depending on the location and extent of damage to the spine, muscle weakness can occur in the legs, arms, hands or shoulders. This can cause a decrease in the strength, flexibility and range of motions such as pushing or lifting the limbs. In the lower back sciatic nerve damage can cause muscle weakness and loss of reflexes in the legs.
Disc Damage
Spinal degeneration can injure the cushioning intervertebral discs between each vertebrae. The University of Maryland Medical Center explains that this causes excess pressure on the discs that can damage the outer rings of the discs called the annulus, which is composed of tough ligament material to attach the vertebrae together. This causes loss of stability and shock absorption in the spine. Scar tissue may also form where the discs are damaged causing a loss of flexibility in the spine. The degeneration may cause a decrease in height as well.
