Many people have disc degeneration and never really know it. Just because you have disc degeneration, doesn’t mean you have pain or stiffness all the time. Disc degeneration is the sign that you have an underlying problem causing the degeneration.
Let’s first talk about the normal aspects of the discs (Intervertebral Discs or IVDs). The discs are essentially cushions between every set of vertebrae (bones of the spine). The only areas, which do not have discs, are between the skull and C1 (atlas), and between C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis). The sacrum is really 5 vertebrae that have fused together, hence no true discs. All of the discs make up about ¼ of your height, therefore when your discs begin wearing down and degenerating, you start to shrink in height.
The normal disc has 2 parts to it. Think of it like a jelly donut. The outer part of the disc is called the annulus and has tough fibers laid down in rings. The inner part of the disc is called the nucleus pulposa and is more of gelatinous material. It works like a ball bearing and a pivot point between two vertebrae.
Why does disc degeneration begin? When you have vertebrae that are misaligned for a long time, you get abnormal wear and tear on the discs. Think of the bottom of your shoes and if you constantly walk on one side of your foot, you are going to wear down that part of your sole faster. It is the same with the discs between your vertebrae. If you have had a misalignment (subluxation) for a long time the disc is going to wear down.
You can also have disc degeneration from repeated injuries to your discs. If you have had frequent or severe low back injuries where you had strained your low back muscles, you may have also inflamed (irritated) the disc, or if the injury was severe enough you could have bulged, herniated, or ruptured the disc. (See disc injuries for more information on the types of disc injuries.) When the disc has actually been injured, it loses it’s normal integrity and can begin to degenerate. If you have vertebral misalignments, this further adds to the disc degeneration that is going on.
Disc degeneration can be minimal all the way to completely wearing down the disc and the two vertebrae actually fusing together. When the disc is completely degenerated and the bones fuse together, the two vertebraes act as one unit in spine biomechanics. You then need to be careful that the discs above or below then don’t start degenerating.
You can minimize the degeration by first getting your vertebrae aligned properly by a chiropractor, and by keeping as much motion into the spine as possible (see exercises for the back). The properly aligned spine/vertebrae will reduce the wear and tear on the discs. Also by keeping mobility in the spine, you let your body function and adapt better, thus reducing degeneration.