Many people suffer from various sources of back pain, which can be caused from sitting too long, or sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress, but what if your pain is coming from lumbar degenerative disc disease in your spine – and you don’t know it? It’s important to understand spine health so that you know when to see a physician for treatment.
Lumbar degenerative disc disease is a disease of the spine, or lower back, in which a compromised disc is causing low back pain. It can be caused by simple wear and tear, or a traumatic incident — such as a car accident. Unfortunately, it is usually caused from a small injury to the disc that progresses over time.
Unlike soft tissue injuries (which repair themselves easily due to proper blood flow) the disc in your spine does not have enough blood supply, so it is unable to repair itself if it sustains an injury. The insignificant injury can start to degenerate and wear out, causing mild pain, which becomes chronic pain over time if not treated.
The pain caused from degenerative disc disease is usually generated from one or both of two sources:
- Abnormal micro-motion instability – Loss of mobility can occur when the outer rings of the disc are worn down and can no longer absorb stress on the spine.
- Inflammation – causes irritation to the nerve surrounding the space around the disc. Unfortunately, both the small nerve within the disc space, as well as the larger nerves can be affected, causing pain in the legs.
Degenerative disc disease can eventually decrease over a long period, rather than becoming worse. Here’s why! Once the disc is fully degenerated, the tissue no longer becomes inflamed because the spine discs usually collapse into a stable position, eliminating the pain. Interestingly, a person suffering from back pain in their 40’s may find themselves out of pain by the time they reach their 60’s.
You can slow the disc degeneration process of your spine by changing a few simple lifestyle habits. Here are 5 tips that can help:
- Stretch: Increase mobility by taking 5 minutes to stretch in the morning and 5 minutes before going to bed. This will do wonders to decrease your pain.
- Stay Active: Activity increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the body, along with other nutrients to the discs, keeping them hydrated and pliable – it is the single best way to heal the back.
- Strengthen your body: low-impact exercise like walking, biking or swimming 3 times a week can maintain flexibility and mobility.
- Sit up Straight: Keeping good posture reduces back pain. Degenerative discs tend to be more painful if a person is sitting for long periods of time, especially if slumped over.
- Change positions frequently: Changing positions increases blood flow and reduces stress on the back. Try standing or walking every 30 minutes to reduce lower back pain.
If you believe that your pain may be coming from lumbar disc disease, be sure to see your physician. There are minimally invasive procedures that can help eliminate back pain completely.
No need to suffer, call Dr. Kamson at (888) 712-0318 and obtain a professional medical opinion so that you no longer live with degenerative disc disease. It will change your life!