The spine is one long structure with three main sections, and disc degeneration can occur anywhere in the spine. Discs in the neck and lower back are the most vulnerable to disc degeneration because of the roles they play in the spine's biomechanics.
Healthy spinal discs are necessary for optimal spinal health and function; being diagnosed with multilevel degenerative disc disease means the spine's intervertebral discs are degenerating in more than one spinal section.
Understanding how multilevel degenerative disc disease can affect the spine means understanding how the discs facilitate spinal strength, flexibility, and function.
The vertebrae of the spine are stacked on top of one another, and in a healthy spine, the vertebrae will be aligned so the spine is straight and can maintain its healthy curves.
A healthy spine will also have a decent range of motion to facilitate bending, lifting, and twisting.
A disc sits between adjacent vertebrae and consists of two main structures: a durable outer layer called the annulus and a soft inner nucleus.
The discs are made largely of water, but fluid levels change over time, and this can alter the disc's shape and function as people age.
Intervertebral disc degeneration is difficult to reverse because the spinal discs are avascular, meaning they don't have their own blood vessels through which nutrients can pass and waste can be eliminated; instead, the discs try to absorb what they need from surrounding blood vessels.
The spine, like the rest of the body, is subject to age-related degenerative changes, and it's often the discs that are the first spinal structures to deteriorate.
Degenerative disc disease can lead to a number of spinal issues/conditions and affects older adults.
Degenerative disc disease often involves disc desiccation; when we're born, the discs are largely made of water, but fluid levels decrease over time, and if a disc experiences excessive fluid loss, it can become desiccated and change shape as a result.
When a disc changes shape, it doesn't just affect the disc, but also the vertebrae attached and the disc's surroundings.
Vertebrae attached can experience a pull that shifts them out of alignment with the rest of the spine, causing them to tilt unnaturally into an unhealthy spinal curve.
There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that make up the spinal cord, and if a degenerating disc introduces uneven pressure to a spinal nerve, it can cause a variety of symptoms related to the function and location of the nerves.
Degenerative disc disease can cause the spine to become more unstable and unbalanced over time, particularly if left untreated.
Now let's address the difference between a single spinal section containing a degenerating disc and multilevel degenerative disc disease.
Disc degeneration can occur in a single disc, multiple discs, in a single spinal section, or in more than one section as multilevel degenerative disc disease.
The two spinal sections most vulnerable to disc degeneration, however, are the cervical spine and the lumbar spine, and this is due to the unique roles the sections play in how the spine functions.
The cervical spine has to support the weight of the head, maintain a range of motion to move the head, and connects the brain to the rest of the body; the lumbar spine is tasked with supporting the weight of the spinal sections above, the trunk, and its vertebrae feel the effects of strenuous movements (deep bends, lifts, and twists).
So it's not uncommon, particularly as degenerative disc disease can introduce adverse spinal tension to the spine, for multilevel degenerative disc disease to involve the cervical and lumbar spinal sections.
Symptoms are shaped by the level of disc degeneration, location within the spine, and the condition's underlying cause.
Common symptoms of multilevel degenerative disc disease can include back pain, shoulder pain, pain that radiates into the extremities due to nerve root compression, muscle weakness, changes to gait and range of movement, and sensations of numbness and tingling in the arms, legs, hands, and/or feet.
Some disc degeneration doesn't cause noticeable symptoms, and it's not uncommon for disc issues to be discovered during a routine X-ray concerning a different matter.
Particularly for those experiencing degenerative disc disease symptoms, determining the condition's underlying cause is the first step to effectively treating the condition.
Causation shapes a condition's effects, so when known, it should also inform the customization of potentially-effective treatment plans.
Some common causes of multilevel degenerative disc disease include natural age related degenerative changes in the spine, injury/trauma, chronic poor posture, and spinal conditions like bone spurs, spinal stenosis (spinal canal narrowing), and degenerative scoliosis that causes a loss of healthy spinal curves and introduces uneven pressure to the spine and its parts.
Degenerative disc disease is most often diagnosed in adults over 50 and is also more common in females than males; this is thought to be the result of changes in hormone levels and bone density that characterise menopause.
So for those recently diagnosed with multilevel degenerative disc disease, what are the treatment options available?
Degenerative disc disease can be an effect of aging, but a person's rate and level of degenerative changes is also shaped by a number of lifestyle factors.
As people age, the discs are in danger of losing an excessive amount of fluid and elasticity, but preserving disc health and preventing degeneration can be possible through maintaining a healthy weight and activity level, staying hydrated, practicing good posture, and lifting heavy objects properly.
Physical Therapy
Muscle weakness around the spine can mean a lack of support and stability for the spine, so muscle strengthening through physical therapy can help take pressure off the discs as the spine is better supported by its surrounding muscles; this can help prevent additional intervertebral disc degeneration.
Physical therapy can also help improve a person's posture and activate certain areas of the brain for better communication between the brain, the spine, and the rest of the body.
The degenerative process can be slow, as can the process of treatment to reverse disc degeneration, and/or preserve existing disc health and function, and prevent further disc degeneration and disc herniation.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care can also be a key facet of non surgical treatment, particularly if the cause of the degenerative disk disease is a spinal condition like scoliosis.
If the spine is misaligned due to a scoliotic curve, its discs are being exposed to uneven wear and tear, and this makes them degenerate faster and can lead to advanced degenerative disc disease.
Addressing the scoliosis itself through working towards a curvature reduction is improving the underlying cause of the disc disease for better potential results.
As a CLEAR-certified scoliosis chiropractor, I've addressed a number of spinal conditions and issues with a proactive and customized non-surgical treatment approach with proven results.
While there is the ever-present option of surgery for treating multilevel degenerative disc disease included, this often involves a type of spinal fusion, and the procedure is invasive and risky; in addition, a fused spine is fused for life and is contrary to the spine's natural movement-based design.
Many patients who have undergone spinal fusion experience a noticeable loss in spinal flexibility that can disrupt their overall quality of life, and as fused spines are weaker, they are also more vulnerable to injury.
At the CLEAR Scoliosis Institute, the approach to treating all spinal issues/conditions is about preserving as much of the spine's natural range of motion, strength, and function as possible, and this is worked towards through a chiropractic-centered and integrative treatment approach.
To prevent degenerative disk disease, an understanding of spinal health and the benefits of a spine- friendly lifestyle are important, as is an understanding of how important the discs are for overall spinal health.
Degenerative disc disease can affect the cervical spine, thoracic spine, and the lumbar spine as lumbar degenerative disc disease; it can cause a number of symptoms including neck pain, chronic pain, nerve pain, and mobility issues.
When discs degenerate at multiple spinal levels, the spine's shock absorbers aren't working properly, and a single degenerating disc can also affect the position of two or more vertebrae as adjacent vertebrae attach to the disc in between.
The best way to decrease pain and improve the spine's health and function, is to determine the cause of the excessive disc degeneration and treat it proactively.
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