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Degenerative Disc DiseaseDegenerative disc disease is a wrong representation of the condition since it is a natural part of aging and not really a disease where in most people associate with, or as, a progressive and very threatening condition. It is, however, true that the disc degeneration is most likely to progress, but the degenerative disc disease pain usually does not get worse and in fact usually gets better over time. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans have documented that more or less 30 percent of 30 year olds have signs of disc degeneration even if they have no back pain symptoms thus not all disc degenerative diseases that are seen on MRI scans are pain generators. In fact, by the time a person reaches 60 years old, degenerative spine disc disease is an expected finding on an MRI scan but the incidence of low back pain, nevertheless, actually declines. As people age, their intervertebral discs lose their flexibility, elasticity, and shock absorbing characteristics, the annulus fibrosis, a firm and tough outer layer of ligaments that surround the disc, become brittle and can easily be torn, and the nucleus pulposus, the soft gel-like center of the disc, starts to dry out and shrink. The outer portion of the annulus fibrosis contains nerves, so when the disc tears in this area, it will create exceptional pain. Similarly, when the proteins that the nucleus pulposus contains touches any tissue, that tissue will be tender and swell thus when it leak out, extreme pain occurs. A combination of these have marked degenerative disc disease. The above mentioned characteristics, combined with the development of bone spurs and a gradual thickening of the ligaments that support the spine, contribute to what is called lumbar degenerative disc disease. Despite the fact that mild degenerative disc disease and moderate degenerative disc disease happens to everyone, each person has different degenerative disc disease level or changes in their lumbar spine and most people who have "normal" backs have MRIs that show disc herniations, degenerative changes, and narrowed spinal canals. The spinal column disc cannot heal itself because, unlike the muscles in a person's back or other tissues of the body for that matter, it does not have a blood supply thus painful symptoms of chronic degenerative disc disease occurs and this pain will most likely fluctuate and may even worsen to a large extent. A spiral of degeneration may transpire in with three stages, mostly to 30-years-olds, since when a disc is injured, it cannot repair itself. Acute pain disables a person to properly and normally move his back and the bone where the injury occurred becomes relatively unstable. In spite of that, after the body restabilizes the injured segment of the back, the person will experience fewer attacks of back pain. Spondylosis, noted on x-ray tests or MRI scanning of the spine as a narrowing of the normal "disc space" between the adjacent vertebrae, is the medical term for advanced degenerative disc disease. The degeneration of the disc that affects the lumbar spine is referred to as lumbar degenerative disc disease or simply lumbago. Discs are a gel-like substance, comprised of over 90 percent water and are norm ally strong and durable, however, when placed under uneven pressure and compression for years they can easily give way thus pave the way for spine degenerative disc disease.
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