If you have neck pain, numbness or tingling in your shoulders, arms or hands or feel the same types of symptoms in your low back, hips, down your leg and to your feet, spinal disc disease may be a contributing factor to your symptoms.

Dr. Dave and I treat people that have these conditions daily in our office.

To better describe this condition, it is where the discs of the spine most commonly in the lower neck or lower back begin to degenerate over time. I notice this on spinal x-rays where the degenerative disc thins out and commonly the vertebrae above and below the degenerative disc develops calcium deposits to help stabilize the unstable areas of the spine.

The body of the vertebrae and disc support 90% of the body weight, and the spinal joints 10%.

However, when the discs loose their height, weight bearing will change to 50/50, which more weight is transferred to the spinal joints. This can cause increased wear and tear and can lead to osteoarthritis which causes pain as well as loss of mobility.

When this happens, and by the way, it is as common as cavities in the teeth, it may cause narrowing of the opening between the vertebrae where the spinal nerve passes. This allows the spinal nerve to get compressed or pinched. If this happens in the lower neck, the patient feels arm and hand pain. If this occurs in the lower back, the patient feels low back, leg and foot pain.

Another type of disc disease is when the cartilage around the disc weakens by small cracks and create a herniation of the disc which may cause simmilar symptoms. Usually an MRI would need to be performed to verify suspicions.

The causes of spinal disc disease are usually multi-faceted and I will give you a few examples.

Prolonged sitting causes increased pressure on the discs of the spine, lifting or pulling heavy objects, repetitive bending or twisting of the back, and exposure to constant vibration such as driving can cause damage. Being in poor physical condition, overweight, and loss of flexibility can add to increased stress on spinal discs.

Obviously, severe spinal strains to the neck and back which might include whiplash injuries or falls can contribute to spinal disc disease. Lastly, smoking causes not only heart and lung disease, but causes a breakdown of collagen which is the connective tissue that keeps the discs as well as your skin healthy. Smoking increases spinal disc disease by seven times the rate of the normal aging process.

The treatment is prevention. You cannot unfry an egg once it is fried. Once degenerative disc disease is present, you cannot make it new again. So you need to pracitce healthy lifestyles.

First, exercise regularly, keep your weight under control, don't smoke and practice good posture and lifting habits.

If you do experience pain similar to what I have described, call our office. We will examine your condition and make the appropriate recommendations to help you get back on the right track to better health. Not everyone requires the same treatment. People are different and have conditions that require individualized care. Age, lifestyle, condition of degeneration and congenital varients all make a difference in the type and length of treatment given. Most people we see get to feeling better with chiropractic care when dealing with spinal disc disease.

Dr. Richard W. Haas DC, FACO