One of the most common cause of lower back pain is degenerative disc disease. This is a scary sounding problem, having the word "disease" associated with it. Degenerative disc disease is more of a condition rather than a disease. This condition produces pain from a disc that is damaged. Discs degenerate naturally as a person ages, although some discs might have a higher rate of degeneration.

The main symptom of degenerative disc disease is of course pain. Although the pain gets worse or better depending on the activity a person does. Sitting may cause the pain to worsen because while in a seated position the discs in the lower back have more pressure on them at that particular angel. Participating in certain activities that involve lifting, bending, and twisting can cause the back pain to worsen. The pain can improve when changing positions frequently, never staying in one position for too long. The prone position is the best for someone with degenerative disc disease because stress on the disc is relieved. No weight is pressing down on the disc so the pain lessens quite a bit.

The positive aspect to degenerative disc disease is that it can be treated without surgery successfully. Successful degenerative disc disease treatments include osteopathic manipulation, anti-inflammatory drugs, chiropractic manipulative therapy, physical therapy, traction, and spinal injections. All of these options provide sufficient relief of pain. However, surgery may be necessary if the pain persists and the options above don't work.

A procedure can be performed in which the disc is removed through a small incision in the neck and a small piece of bone or other graft material is put in as a replacement. This is called anterior cervical discectomy. Another surgery, cervical corpectomy, removes a piece of the vertebra and surrounding intervertebral discs to allow the spinal nerves and the cervical spinal cord to decompress. Bone grafts are used as a spine stabilizer as well as screws and metal plates. Another surgical option is an intervertebral disc annuloplasty in which the disc is brought up to a temperature of 90° Celsius for 15 minutes to attempt to seal the disc to possibly deaden the nerves that are bothered by the degeneration.

As always we recommend natural treatments for back pain before considering back surgery.