You just came back from your physician’s office and you were told you have Degenerative Disc Disease in your low back! Do not worry, do not lose sleep. Although you may be an aging adult, this process in your low back probably began to start in your 20’s or 30’s.
Take a deep breath and read on! Just like everything in life, the more we are educated on a topic the more control we have over the situation. I am ready to give you control over your DDD!
What is DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease)?
Degenerative disc disease is the term used for when the discs in our spines lose their height and therefore the vertebrae move closer together. It is a relatively common diagnosis because at a certain point we all can be “diagnosed” with DDD… it is just a matter of the severity of our symptoms. DDD is also somewhat of an interchangeable term for other conditions such as arthritis or spinal stenosis. Doctors will use the term degenerative disc disease if they are looking specifically at the discs where stenosis and arthritis are used for other structures in the spine.
What causes DDD?
The simple answer here is GRAVITY. That’s right, gravity is the main cause of DDD. As we develop, we get a more upright posture. The spine naturally has a little curvature to it which helps the discs stay healthy but after years of standing and sitting against gravity our discs will eventually degenerate to the point of possibly causing pain either in the low back / neck or potentially down an arm / leg if nerve tissue is irritated along with it.
While gravity is the main contributor for DDD, there are other factors that can contribute to its development. These include genetics (yes, you can blame your parents for your back pain), smoking (another reason to quit smoking as it will accelerate our disc breakdown), previous injuries when we were that athletic teenager that had no fear, and excessive body weight.
What can we do to help avoid it?
To a certain extent, DDD will happen to all of us. However, DDD is just like any other form of arthritis meaning it can be managed. Steps as easy as staying hydrated and eating a healthy diet will give you a much better chance of potentially not having symptoms due to your DDD. Staying hydrated helps because the disc material in our spine absorbs water and acts as a cushion between the vertebrae and the more water we have in our system, the more cushion these discs will give you.
Staying at a healthy weight will help because if we have a lot of excess adipose tissue (fat) around our torso it will naturally cause our spines to have too much of that forward curvature. This curvature may eventually lead to more pressure on these discs therefore making it harder for them to give us necessary support. Picture a pregnant person: that added weight from the baby pulls the back forward where that weight is being held, adding pressure to the spine. If you are overweight the same mechanism will occur but unlike the baby which will be out within nine months, being overweight is added pressure for years and years.
What about exercise?
Exercising is great for minimizing your risk of developing symptoms from DDD. Doing activities such as low-impact cardio (biking, ellipticals, row machines, walking) will do wonders for overall blood circulation and heart health. The better circulation you have in your body, the less of a chance the arthritis in your spine will cause symptoms because your body is better about flushing out inflammation around our injured areas.
What can physical therapy do to help?
Physical therapy can be very beneficial for someone experiencing pain due to the arthritis or DDD in their spine. As a PT, we can perform treatments such as manual mobilizations to your spine and hips to help create more space around these discs to give your spine a better chance at staying healthy or decreasing symptoms you may already be experiencing.
Physical therapists can also help address your weakness areas which most often are in the hips and “core”. Doing hip strengthening exercises is great to help stabilize your pelvis which acts as the foundation or base for your spine. The more stable your pelvis is, the more stable your spine will be.
The “core” is a term that often refers to all the muscles that help support your back – specifically the abdominals, obliques, erector spinae (muscles that go along your spine in the back) and tranversus abdominis which is a muscle that almost acts as a bracing belt across your torso. Identifying where you are weak and giving exercises to help strengthen these areas can do a lot to help support your spine and therefore take pressure off your discs.
What’s the take home message?
The take home message of this would be if a physician tells you that you have DDD don’t take it as something you can’t do anything about. DDD happens to us all but there are things you can do to help minimize your risk at quickly developing it and also decrease your symptoms once it has started. Staying active with exercise and eating a healthy diet will help long term. If the pain has started affecting your day-to-day life then reaching out to a physical therapist is a very good option.
If you have been diagnosed with DDD in your spine, iMove PT is ready to help! One of the beautiful parts about iMove PT is that we are mobile…we treat you where you want to be treated. Whether you want treatment in your home, office, or another location of your choice, we are ready to roll and get you back healthier!
Take that first step towards having a less painful life and reach out to the experts at iMove PT. You can book online or over the phone by calling (636) 893-8312. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at danny@imovephysicaltherapy.com
I look forward to hearing from you!
Dr. Danny Crenshaw, PT, DPT, CSCS, CSMT