Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD): What Is It?

San Francisco Chiropractor and Chronic Back Pain Doctor Comments:

There is a lot of confusion about what degenerative disc disease (DDD) actually means. Here is an excerpt from an excellent article I found on the always informative www.spine-health.com website. The article is entitled What is Degenerative Disc Disease?:

Finally, many patients are confused about degenerative disc disease because many medical professionals don’t agree on what the phrase describes. In practical terms, this means that few practitioners agree on what does and does not constitute a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease. Even medical textbooks don’t usually attempt to give an accurate description. Therefore, while many practitioners believe that degenerative disc disease is a common cause of low back pain in young adults, very few agree on the implications.

This article really gets down and dirty as far as the what behind  DDD, and I agree with just about all of it. However, I believe many people have discs that age prematurely because of lifestyle factors...the same factors that contribute to other chronic disease processes. Things like poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, and drinking and smoking. So, along with everything mentioned in the article...my two cents would be that poor lifestyle choices can accelerate the degenerative process of a spinal disc, just like it can a heart or a lung.

So...if we are to try and slow down the disease process we need to address lifestyle and patient education, along with the more conventional therapies such as physical therapy, chiropractic, and modern medicine.  After all, Thomas Edison said the following:

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and the cause and prevention of disease" 

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for care at our San Francisco Chiropractic Center...please call 415-392-2225 abd ask for a complimentary consultation.