According to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, degenerative disc disease is a condition in which pain is caused by damaged intervertebral discs. Common symptoms associated with degenerative disc disease include spine pain that's worse when sitting, bending, lifting or twisting. Complementary alternative therapies, along with conventional biomedical treatments, can help reduce the pain or discomfort related to degenerative disc disease.
Prolotherapy
According to the Spine Universe website, prolotherapy targets the weak ligaments and tendons that may be associated with degenerative disc disease, and many people who have tried prolotherapy to decrease their degenerative disc disease-related pain have found symptomatic relief. Protherapy.org states that prolotherapy involves the injection of a non-pharmacological substance, or proliferant, into the affected ligaments or tendons, which stimulates an inflammatory response around the injection site, along with a wound-healing cascade, or healing crisis. The healing crisis results in new collagen formation in the affected area, and the collagen shrinks as it matures. The shrinking collagen--which is the same material that ligaments and tendons are made of--reinforces and tightens up the involved ligament, making it stronger and more durable, and helps reduce back pain.
Spinal Decompression Therapy
Spinal decompression therapy is an effective treatment for degenerative disc disease. The American Spinal Decompression Association, or ASDA--an allied group of physicians dedicated to bringing non-surgical spinal decompression therapy to communities throughout the United States--states that when medical attention is indicated for degenerative disc disease, most patients respond well to conservative, non-invasive types of treatment, including chiropractic manipulative therapy, physical therapy and non-surgical spinal decompression therapy. Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy uses FDA-approved equipment to "apply distraction forces to spinal structures in a precise and graduated manner," along with periods of partial spinal relaxation. Spinal decompression therapy attempts to unload a person's intervertebral discs and separate the vertebrae, which creates a vacuum inside the affected discs that helps decompress the spine and relieve back pain.
Herbal Remedies
According to Spine Universe, several herbal remedies--including devil's claw and white willow bark--may help reduce degenerative disc disease-related symptoms. MedlinePlus states that devil's claw originates from the desert regions of Africa, such as the Kalahari and the Savannah, and that it's used to decrease inflammation and relieve back pain. The active ingredient in devil's claw is extracted from the dried-out roots. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that white willow bark contains salicin, which has a similar chemical structure as aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, and is believed to have pain-reducing and anti-inflammatory properties.
Surgery
According to Spine Universe, most people with degenerative disc disease do not require surgery. In fact, surgery is only recommended if the following three criteria are satisfied: pain that's unchanged after six months of conservative, non-surgical therapies; disc degeneration at only one or two spinal levels; and a young age at the time of surgery. While surgery is usually the last option for degenerative disc disease, there are certain red flags associated with disc pain that indicates serious underlying pathology requiring immediate surgical intervention; these signs include loss of bowel or bladder control, and cauda equina syndrome. Cauda equina syndrome signs and symptoms include lower extremity weakness, groin numbness, pain radiating down the legs and incontinence.
References
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Degenerative Disc Disease
- Spine Universe: Alternative Treatments for Degenerative Disc Disease
- Prolotherapy.org: Prolotherapy
- American Spinal Decompression Association: Degenerative Disc Disease
- American Spinal Decompression Association: Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression
