Degenerative Spine Symptoms
Degenerative spine symptoms can take a toll on your daily life. Everyday movements like cooking, stretching, tying your shoes, or gardening can become complex and painful. To better understand this condition and the specific symptoms it causes, you can work more closely with your doctor to develop an effective treatment plan if this condition is affecting you.
Degenerative Spine Causes
Joints, ligaments, muscles, discs, and vertebrae make up your spine. Both the joints and discs contain cartilage that makes your neck and back movements smooth and comfortable. As you age, this cartilage begins to break down and become brittle, meaning it can no longer sustain the impact of your body’s movements.
Conditions like bulging or herniated discs can come from degenerative disc disease, among other conditions. Weak joint cartilage can lead to the development of bone spurs. These develop as the body’s way of protecting itself from the pain caused by arthritic joints rubbing against each other.
Symptoms may occur in the arms or legs if this condition causes spinal cord compression or nerve roots.
Common Symptoms
There are many symptoms associated with this condition. Specifically, like symptoms for any related condition vary from person to person, patients with a degenerative spine condition often develop:
- Degenerative disc disease. This condition may cause localized and radiating pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness.
- Degenerative spine arthritis. With spinal arthritis, you may experience warm throbbing and tenderness, limited range of motion, or diminished flexibility.
Degenerative spine symptoms vary depending on which region of the spine is affected by nerve compression:
- Degenerative cervical spine. This affects the upper neck and back and causes potential neck, shoulders, arms, and hand symptoms.
- Degenerative thoracic spine. This affects the middle region of the back, often causing symptoms around the rib cage or lower body.
- Degenerative lumbar spine. This condition affects the lower back; you may feel symptoms in the feet, buttocks, legs, and tailbone.
Treatment Options
Suppose you’ve spoken with your doctor about your symptoms and have been diagnosed with a degenerative spine disorder. In that case, your doctor may recommend a nonsurgical treatment routine combining mild exercise, hot and cold packs, pain medication, and other treatment methods.
If nonsurgical treatments cannot provide relief and your doctor has suggested surgery, consider the minimally invasive procedures performed at BEST Health System. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
