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Degenerated Disc
What is a Degenerated Spinal Disc?Disc degeneration describes a general wearing out of the intervertebral disc structures. This process occurs most notably in the lumbar spine and cervical spine, since these are the regions which get the most abuse during our lifetimes. Degeneration means that the disc loses height, mass and circumference and may even develop a defect in the outer wall called an annular tear. While these circumstances sound bad, they are actually generally asymptomatic and will typically go completely unnoticed by the affected individual.Degenerated Disc ProcessDisc degeneration is certainly not a condition of the elderly, as the name implies. Most people have moderate degeneration in the lower back and necks by the age of 30. Many people experience the same advanced degeneration by age 20. I was diagnosed with DDD at the tender age of 16.Disc degeneration is one of the great scapegoats of the back pain industry. When there is back pain, it is very easy for any doctor to blame the symptoms on degeneration, since this is a universal process and is sure to be found in the spines of virtually every living adult human. In essence, degeneration is “old reliable” when it comes to finding a spinal abnormality to take the fall for back ache… Degenerated Disc AdviceIf you have been diagnosed with DDD as the primary or only source of a painful back condition, I urge you to reconsider this diagnosis carefully. Get a second opinion from a different care provider at the very least. Degenerative disc disease is typically no more of a problem than any other physical sign of aging, such as wrinkles in the skin or graying of the hair. It is no surprise that back pain treatments designed to deal with DDD perform so poorly in their curative statistics. This is because DDD is rarely the real reason for any significant or chronic back pain.My advice is to research spinal degeneration carefully and learn the objective facts. If you can not find relief from your seemingly degenerative induced pain, you might have just been pursuing treatment for the wrong causation all along.
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