Tips to manage Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Your spine is the longest bone in the body and is responsible for keeping you fit and fine. You can stand and sit in the right position only with a perfect spine. However, with natural effects of aging and use, the spine or your backbone begins to degenerate or wear. The discs that you have at your back act as the shock absorbers and are located in between the vertebra. Your body weight along with any specific activities that you perform over the years compresses these discs. Therefore, these discs start wearing and eventually lose height. Medically, this situation is known as lumbar degenerative disc disease.

The lumber disc is situated at the lower back. As we carry on with our day to day activities, the joints of the lower back also known as the facet joints glide against each other. Due to wear, if the discs have lost the height, the vertebra does not have the same amount of cushioning between them and therefore, more stress is placed on these joints. This is the source of pain which can be in the lower back only or could go down to leg also, in case the nerve roots of the sciatic nerve are affected. If you wish to increase the space between the vertebras again, it is possible only through lumbar spine surgery in Atlanta, although it is the last resort procedure.

If this is the source of pain, then do not think that it cannot get alleviated due to any other reason.  As the stress that is placed on the joints increases due to narrowing of the disc, often the soft tissues of the lower back also experience tightness. Hence, further stress is placed across the joints, and the pain increases even more. Many times, it is not the lumbar degenerative disc disease that is the cause of the pain instead it is the tight soft tissues in the lower back that is the reason behind the problem. There are certain physical exercises that might help you resolve your problem. However, if the pain aggravates, then it is most probable that you are not suffering with degenerative disc disease. The cause for your pain is something else.
If you have some critical traumatic injury and there are signs of neurological problems that are accelerating, then lumbar spine surgery in Atlanta is suggested by the doctors. The symptoms may include leg weakness, loss of bladder and bowel control, scoliosis etc. Depending upon the area that has been damaged, the surgical approach and procedure can be decided. These days, only a tiny cut is made and thus, minimal invasive technique is used. An anterior endoscopic method is involved for the cervical spine. Most of these procedures are assisted with video footage for better view of the problem area. There are a number of websites that provide detailed information about the same and you can check them out along with the guidance of a professional practitioner to ease your back pain.