The spinal cord starts from the bottom of your brain stem, popularly known as the medulla oblongata, and extends to your lower back. The spinal cord has discs separating each vertebra. The cervical discs support the vertebral bones in your neck and enable flexibility in the head’s movement. Due to varying issues, you may have cervical disc disease Roswell. Cervical disc disease is a general term referring to a collection of degenerative cervical disc disorders that results from different problems.
For instance, your cervical disc disease may be due to natural tear and wear or traumatic injury. Naturally, as you age, there is a gradual decline in the structure and function of your cervical discs, which may be more apparent by the time you reach over 40 years.
As you age, you subject your cervical discs to a lot of twisting and frequent overuse that may cause degenerative disc disease. Other factors that may also put you at risk of spinal impairment are being overweight, having bad posture, smoking, and living a sedentary lifestyle.
You will have degenerative disc disease in your neck because the spaces filled with fluids in your cervical discs become thinner and less elastic, making them less effective in absorbing shocks.
Moreover, the drying and shrinking of the soft gel in the center of the cervical discs make less space available for the nerve roots of the spinal cord.
Your degenerative disc disease in the neck may also result from the ligaments surrounding your cervical discs becoming less flexible and thus more susceptible to tears.
Treating and managing cervical disc disease
If you have a cervical disc disease, you may or may not experience pain in your neck, which can extend to your arm or hand.
Your neck, hands, and arms may also feel numb and weak.
Other times, the pain and discomfort may extend to your lower extremities. Although a rare case, if you have severe cervical disc degeneration, you may encounter bladder and bowel incontinence or partial paralysis.
Often your doctor can treat cervical disc degeneration by recommending you take medications that provide relief against pain and inflammation.
You may also get relief from cervical disc degeneration by undergoing physical therapy, massage, and heat therapy.
For instance, heat therapy makes the neck muscles lose and relax. You can apply gentle heat to your neck muscles by using a towel to wrap a heating pad and placing it around your neck.
Alternatively, you may make the neck muscles less tight by taking a warm shower as you stand for about ten minutes. Once you feel the neck muscles are warm, subject them to a gentle massage.
If conservative and minimally invasive treatments such as epidural steroid injections fail to provide relief, you may have to undergo surgery.
It is possible to speed up your healing process and manage your condition better if you take a few precautions.
For example, always rest, safeguard your neck and back against damage, stay hydrated, eat healthily, engage in light activities and exercises, take prescribed medicines, avoid smoking, keep your neck straight as you lie down, and avoid bad posture.
Contact Apex Spine and Neurosurgery today to schedule an appointment with a cervical disc disease specialist and learn more about the condition.
