If you are dealing with degenerative disc disease or a similar degenerative condition that involves your spine, understanding how to live with a degenerative disc is an important concept. The more that you understand when it comes to how to live with a degenerative disc, the easier it will be for you to overcome the pain and discomfort that are associated with this disease so that you can move on with your life.
Degenerative disc tends to occur as people age. The degenerative disc term is actually a catch-all or umbrella phrase that can be used to define a number of different painful conditions involving the back, or more specifically, the spine. There are a number of different conditions that are capable of causing degenerative disc include ankylosing spondylitis and spinal stenosis. Degenerative disc is often caused as a result of osteoarthritis in the spine, and at times, it is a condition that is capable of being quite painful.
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If you are experiencing osteoarthritis in your spine, then learning how to live with a degenerative disc is going to mean understanding how the pain is resulting from irritation and inflammation in your vertebra as a result of unwanted compression of a disc. As your spine works on healing itself, small calcium stones will be generated on the spinal column, and this is unfortunately quite capable of causing a lack of mobility of your spine as well as attacks of pain as a result.
The key to knowing how to live with a degenerative disc lies in having a firm grasp of the treatment options that are available to you. Exercise is one possible way for you to restore quality of life by helping with your movements and controlling your pain. Weight control is another important aspect of living with a degenerative disc because if you have excess weight you could be causing pressure on your back which can cause an increase in back pain. There are also pain medications that you can take, such as paracetamol for example, which are used for the long term treatment of pain associated with degenerative disc.
When dealing with degenerative disc as a result of osteoarthritis, you may take steroids in the form of an injection every single day in order to relief a significant amount of pain and discomfort. There is also a newer treatment which is to inject Hyaluronic acid to relieve the pain and discomfort associated with your degenerative disc. There are studies that are showing that Hyaluronic acid lubricates the spinal pads in the back in order to relieve discomfort on a longer term basis. If you want to pursue these treatment options or to learn how to live with a degenerative disc without sacrificing quality of life, speak to your physician for help. He or she can help you choose the right treatment options and coping mechanisms for the degenerative disc issues you are currently facing.
