It is not known why degenerative disc disease in the cervical spine occurs in some people but not in others. The result, however, is that the intervertebral disc weakens and begins to bulge, or herniate. When it bulges enough to push onto the spinal roots or the spinal cord, pain and other symptoms result. A surgical technique used to remove the disc, called a discectomy, is often followed by spinal fusion.
How It Occurs
The cellular causes of degenerative disc disease are not well understood. Researchers believe that the process may be an autoimmune response, or there may be genetic or environmental factors contributing to the underlying mechanism. Smoking and repetitive activities have been identified as potential contributors to the disease, although advanced age does not seem to be a factor in disease development, according to the Mayfield Clinic.
Who Is Affected
There is a great deal of individual variation when it comes to when and how cervical disc degeneration appears. The disease usually begins in the third and fourth decades of life, and according to the Mayfield Clinic, it is rare for persons in their sixties to develop degenerative cervical disc disease. Some people can be free of symptoms for years, while others experience debilitating pain can from the onset. As the disc decays and presses harder onto the neural tissues, symptoms become progressively worse.
Onset
The primary complaint associated with the onset of cervical degenerative disc disease is pain. It is common for the pain to begin after an injury, such as a head or neck trauma. This may cause a painful sensation seemingly unrelated to the injury, and sometimes a minor trauma is disproportionate to the severe pain. At other times, the pain appears on its own.
Chronic Symptoms
Chronic symptoms of cervical degenerative disc disease can vary depending on whether the pathology is at higher or lower cervical levels. According to an article in the February 2001 issue of "The British Medical Journal," each level can produce myelopathy symptoms, or those characteristic of central nervous system injury, as well as radiculopathy symptoms, or those characteristic of peripheral nerve injury. The amount of pain is proportional to the amount of disc degeneration. According to the journal, pain and sensory dysfunction, called parasthesia, can occur from the head to the feet, and can also include weakness on one side of the body, called hemiparesis. Gait disturbances are not uncommon with more a progressed disease.
Treatment
The herniated disc is the primary reason for the pain and associated symptoms of degenerative cervical disc disease. Thus, a cervical discectomy is commonly performed. When the disc is removed, the opposing spinal vertebrae are usually fused to prevent movement.
References
- Centra Care Health Library: Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease--Spinal Cord and Nerve Compression
- 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 Online Medical Library: Compression of the Spinal Cord
