Degenerative disc disease can cause symptoms of various types of degrees and all vertebral discs are vulnerable to degeneration, according to an 2001 article in the "British Medical Journal." The article states that sometimes more than one disc is diseased and surgery is generally used to remove the disc or discs. With the aid of hardware the segments are fused to prevent further movement.
Causes
The Centra Care Health Library states that reason intervertebral discs degenerate is not known, but may be related to genetics, environment or autoimmune factors. They state that strenuous activity and smoking also have been implicated. The end result is that the disc can protrude, or herniate. The outcome is that the disc presses on the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots, producing undesirable symptoms. According to Centra Care Health Library, symptoms vary from person to person and can range from asymptomatic do debilitating, with gradual or sudden onset.
Asympotomatic vs. Sympotomatic
According to the Mayfield Clinic, it is not uncommon for people to feel no pain if they have degenerative disc disease. A person usually begins to show symptoms of the condition in his 20s and 30s. People in their 60s prove unlikely to exhibit the disease. However, as the disease progresses and the disc impinges on the spinal cord or spinal nerve root, the pain usually begins to manifest.
Onset Conditions
The primary symptom of degenerative disc disease is pain, which is usually triggered by trauma. The trauma may result in an unanticipated pain seemingly unrelated to the injury. Also a minor injury may trigger sudden back pain or the pain may begin without injury at all and simply get gradually worse and worse, according to Centra Care Health Library. They state that as the disc degenerates it begins to bulge and press on the spinal roots producing a radiculopathy, which is characterized by changes in sensorimotor abilities. If the disc pushes onto the spinal cord it produces a myelopathy or deficits associated with central nervous system damage.
Types of Symptoms
According to the Merck Manual, symptoms of degenerative disc disease vary from level to level and pain is the most common symptom and characteristic of all levels of involvement. At every spinal level, the degree of pain is made worse by progressive disc degeneration and protrusion onto neural tissues. Cervical disc degeneration can manifest as pain and parasthesia in the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, back and legs, according the "British Medical Journal." Also, symptoms of sympathetic dysfunction may occur, in addition to partial or hemidiaphragm paralysis, and weakness on one side of the body or hemiparesis. However, degeneration of lower vertebral discs begins to limit the symptoms to the lower part of the body. Degeneration of discs in either the upper or lower vertebrae can result in gait disturbances, and the more neural tissue being pressed upon by the disc, the more involved the dysfunction.
Treating the Symptoms
The primary treatment for degenerative disc disease is surgery to remove the disc pressing on the neural tissue. Depending on the level of surgery, the Mayfield Clinic states that the disc can be approached from the anterior or posterior aspect of the body. If the disk material is removed in a procedure called discectomy, then the vertebral bones will likely be fused. This requires metal hardware to hold the bones in place while grafted bone, placed in the intervertebral space, encourages the bones to fuse.
References
- Centra Care Health Library
- Mayfield Clinic: Degenerative disc disease
- "British Medical Journal"; Degenerative cervical disc disease causing cord compression; P. Bently, et. al.; February 2001
- "Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry"; Midcervical central cord syndrome: numb and clumsy hands; M. Nakajima and K. Hirayama; June 1995
- The Merck Manuals: Compression of the Spinal Cord
