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Causes of Degenerative Disc Disease
Anatomical Causes of Degenerative Disc DiseaseThe normal and expected aging processes which act on the spine are the very same causes of DDD. As the intervertebral discs age and experience the constant wear and tear (especially in the lumbar and cervical regions) inherent to the human condition, it is typical for them to lose their ability to retain moisture. This leads to dehydration of the disc structure and the subsequent loss of height, diameter and mass. There is nothing problematic about normal or even most cases of advanced disc degeneration. In fact, every adult demonstrates this condition to one extent or another.Psychosomatic Causes of DDD PainIschemia is the root cause of most chronic back pain, although this process is rarely correctly diagnosed by care providers. Typically, doctors look for a structural reason for pain, even though statistics clearly show that most spinal abnormalities are simply scapegoats on which pain is mistakenly blamed. There is little correlation between DDD and back pain, just the same as there is little correlation between bulging discs or arthritis in the spine and back pain. DDD is perhaps the most innocent of all scapegoat conditions and is very difficult to imagine as the primary source of any considerable dorsopathy complaint.Causes of Degenerative Disc Disease AdviceIt is crucial for all patients to learn the real facts about DDD to repudiate the nocebo effect of the diagnostic process. Some care providers will inadvertently frighten a patient during the diagnosis, while others are surely more purposeful in their scare tactics. DDD is a mainstay of the back pain industry, due to its universality and predictability. I am not a doctor, but I can just as easily diagnose DDD in people, without any exam. Chances are if you are human, it is there…I have long been complaining about the terminology of this condition, since that is a very big part of the problem. The condition is NOT abnormal, NOT problematic and certainly NOT a disease… It is true that some people (very few) suffer from abnormal and concerning disc degeneration. However, these cases do not represent the overwhelming majority of people who are diagnosed with this scary sounding disorder, even though they have perfectly normal and healthy spines…
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