Also note, that although this seems hypothetical and wishful, the answers to this question might help those who already experience DDD, even those who have already had surgery. For example, if there was a method for preventing disc degeneration, then this method might be applied to prevent degeneration of adjacent segments in those who have fusion and other surgeries. Or for those of you with DDD in some, but not all vertebrae, these methods might maintain those vertebrae which are still healthy.

My problems started July 2003. I had a serious "attack", so to speak. I was severely spasmed and could barely walk. I went to the doctor, no x-ray or anything..... I was told it was a spasm, and was prescribed pain meds and muscle relaxers. From that point on, this happened to me every 6 months. And the same protocol was followed, meds.... No x-rays, etc.

It started happening more often in 2005. Finally, in November 2005, I went to a chiro. He could barely touch me I hurt so bad. But, he did do an x-ray, and was the first to tell me in 3 1/2 years that I had DDD. At that point I did have viable disk left. So he treated me with adjustments, etc, until November 2007, when my disk completely blew. At that point, he told me I was beyond any help he could give me, and he was done seeing me (he was very nice about it ). I still will never know if his treatments just prolonged the inevitable collapsing, or were the cause. I'd like to think the latter.

So I guess, to answer your question, my answer would be that I wish that my condition was diagnosed sooner, and I knew what the problem was. Because before where I could do physical therapy, traction, etc., I can't do ANY of it now without irritating my back. Heck, I can't even shave my own legs or put my own socks on most of the time. I am now on Social Security disability.

I think you are on a great path here. I hope this regimen works for you, and perhaps others. I do have to put it out there though, that no one should follow your advice though without first consulting with a doctor.

Take care,

Caity

Thanks for the encouragement!

You're right, diagnosis a very important initial step! And also correct about the disclaimer. Just to put people at ease, just consider this a brainstorming session.

Ok, so to add to the initial question, lets assume that soon after your first bout of back pain you it became known that you were in the early stages of DDD...

I have DDD and recently recovered fom a herniated disc and facet joint arthropy and now after the disc is healed I have mild DDD throughout my Lumber spine. I had 3 injections of depo-medrol and now I have DDD. I wouldn't recommend that controversial steroid for the back. I also would've been more active walking etc. to keep in shape. It's hereditary though and I also should have said no to smoking. Although it's a natural part of aging it shouldn't be so painful! I'm not able to work but still strengthening my core and still trying to lose more weight which is another strain on the back. I lost 35 lbs and still have 30 more to go. I would also have drank more water so the discs wouldn't have got so dehydrated and lay off the colas. Thanks for posting. Take care. Charry

I like the thought of preventing or slowing the DDD process; however. when I asked my NS what I could do to slow the process he advised me to ........"get younger".

Thanks guys! You're experience and knowledge is really helpful! Maybe I can eventually compile a big list of things "to do" and things "not to do", and somehow weed through it.

Keep it coming!

Hi BigG, I think that your NS is only correct in the case of completely degenerated disks, from what I have read.

The following case report demonstrated rehydration and increased disk height in partially degenerated disks with glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation and moderate exercise. It's assumed that the disks that did not regenerate were too far gone. If this is correct, disk regeneration might be possible if caught soon enough.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12797867

Unfortunately, No....
Degenerative Disc Disease is still probably the most mis-understood of all Spinal problems.
In the simplest terms, DDD is the aging of our spines. Almost every person will show some signs of DDD by the time they reach 27. Some people will show signs earlier and more severe. That can be brought on by:

- Trauma
- Surgeries
- Genetic conditions

Just think of DDD the same way we understand how our hair starts to turn gray as we age.

Some of the items mentioned in the original post here are really good points in terms of overall good health. But even following every one of them, you are not going to stop DDD.

Some of those actions, ie Back2life may even be harmful to some spinal patients.

Most cases of DDD do not need any surgical procedure. An approved set of exercises and the use of over the counter NSAIDs can help to manage DDD.
There are very severe cases of DDD that may require surgery.

Before anyone starts on any action plan, always discuss this with your doctor.

Heart of COPD patients have a specific set of exercises and diet that is geared for their condition. The same applies to Spinal Patients.
Since there are so many different problems people can have with their spine, any action plan needs to be understood and reviewed.

Spine-Health Article:
Degenerative Disc Disease

Spine-Health Video:
DDD Video

I agree with Ron (and all others who posted here). You can do many thinks for keeping your spine healthy, but at the end, you can maybe delay, but can't stop the ravages of time, aging, that is. Ce la vie!

Kin

Hindsight is 20/20 so I can't say I would have done anything differently but let's face it, I would have.

I already eat relatively healthy and worked out but

1 - would have cut back my running
2 - understood what a "chronic" back sufferer should beware of...I guess I assumed the majority of people just live with occassional flare ups but I should have read more because knowledge is power. I just assumed I would stay status quo for another 20 years.

I guess I did what the doctors advised so the only thing I should have done is cut back on the distance running.

Once again it is all about who you want to believe and what research you want to subscribe to. Degenerative Disc Disease also known as Spondylosis is a very broad categorization of multiple issues that surround the intervertebral discs and subsequently vertebrae themselves. It encompasses everything from annular tears, loss of disc height, bone spurs, arthritis all of which can lead to issues with the ligaments, facets and even stenosis.

The discs themselves go through quite a change as we age and will dry out and begin to shrink and lose their ability to cushion our spine. It's a fact of life that cannot be changed. Maybe slowed through proper diet and exercise, but age ultimately wins out in the end.

As our discs go through this change, the vertebrae will take on their own issues whether it be arthritis, facet hypertrophy or stenosis.

We can lessen the symtoms that are typically associated with DDD, but to actually reverse the condition, is not known to occur without some sort of surgical intervention.

Possibly if you have found the "fountain of youth" or have a new anti-aging formula ...

Yes there are a few studies that are done and posted by companies that are trying to sell supplements for those suffering fibromyalgia, that claim to be the answer for slowing, stopping and reversing the damage associated with DDD. I find it easier to believe the National Institute of Health, John's Hopkins, The Cleveland Clinic, The Mayfield Clinic, US Military Medicine, American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Pain Foundation to name a few versus corporations trying to sell a product and a few docs they hired to give them testimonials.

I think it is a novel idea and I completely support doing everything we possibly can to remain healthy and slow the process of aging. I believe that there's a lot we can do as individuals through diet and exercise to stave off injury as well as to strengthen and protect our spines from further injury. Encouraging soft tissue health and increased blood circulation to the spine is probably one of the best things we can do. To expect it to correct a degenerative condition to the point of reversing it though ... well for now I will stick with the well established and documented facts on it.

Let me know when you find a way to prevent and or reverse the aging process.

"C"

I don't know if you can prevent DDD but think it's caused by hereditary(genes) and proper body mechanics. I have loss of signal intensity in my spine which to me shows there's something like a nerve compressed and that's why I still have pain or the annular tear that I had with my recent herniated disc.

I wish I had known not to bend from my waist but instead to crouch down and pick up a load (blankets and linens etc.) Also I would recommend carrying that load close to your body instead of at arm's length such as when there were soiled linens etc. at the hospital. I would make sure that I used a cart instead of carrying heavy items in my hands and arms.

But I think to stop it getting worse is to practice those things in learning proper body mechanics even though I said yeah yeah I can handle it I'm strong.

Also strengthening core abdominal muscles and keeping the weight down to a normal range. They are saying that repetitive lifting bending and turning as in my job made it worse. But although both my parents have DDD and my Mother more osteoporosis in her spine it is hereditary but both my parents are active and Father plays golf 3 days a week and he's 74 and my Mother is a real mall and beach walker at 69. They feel bad for me as of course I'm only in my late 40's.

I think it is though if you find someone with a herniated disc or DDD they may not have pain and continue working and exercising,then there's another like me who had a small herniated disc with an annular tear and DDD that knocked me off my feet for almost 2 years now and some people for even longer.
As for surgery no Doctor would operate on me to make me functional again and there's no guarantees with surgery but I think I would benefit from it and I'm still looking for someone to help me. Charry

Hi everyone

All this time I'm thinking there is no prevention for DDD. I have servere DDD before my back surgery and I also have servere Spinal Stenous (spelling)? There have been no exrays since two weeks after the surgery so I have no idea what my spine is like except the way I feel. I'm am living in a different state so there is no free medical here to get more exrays. Thanks for allowing me to vent.

Hi everyone, not to change the subject, but I was looking for testimonials from people that have had Artificial Arthroplasty because I am fighting the insurance company over it.
I was diagnosed in May and only because it became disabling to me. I am the type of person that doesn't go to a doctor unless I feel like I am dieing.
I am supposed to be in surgery this very moment getting Artificial disc replacement. The insurance company said it was an excluded surgery treatment and then said it wasn't medically necessary on the appeal my doctor sent to them.
I have insisted on working up to Friday, 1/15/10, but I don't think I can anymore. I have a desk job at the bank. Sitting all day hurts but so does getting up and down for the printer and fax.
So when this was more than I could handle I went to find out what was going on. I had a car accident in Sept 2008 and then another in Sept 2009 but I was hurting before those. I am allergic to hydro-cortisone, no other treatments have helped, I think they worsened the pain. My PT warned me that it might. I am 105 pounds overweight because my activity had slowly decreased over the past 5 or more years from the pain. I have smoked since the age of 13, not that I haven't tried quitting. I don't want to even try fusion because of what I have read about fusion with overweight smokers.
If anyone can provide some of their testimonials from having artificial disc surgery, perferrably those that have had it many years ago, it would greatly apprciated. You are welcome to private message me if you don't want to share it in the forums.

Since DDD emcompases so many things annular tears, etc. it is to an extent preventable. If you did a heavy lifting job and the pressure caused a tear would it not be true if you did not do the heavy lifting it would not have torn. Why do manual jobs have higher rate of disc problems? Yes it is going to be there with age ,but there are definitly way to speed it up and cause it to be painful. Smorls nodes often appear as a result of trama when young and it is belived they speed up the deg.process of that disc. There are docs in germany experimenting with scraping the arth. vert. endplates allowing the disc to recieve nutrients and have grown in height, I hope DDD is more understood in the future. DDD is kind of like fibro, it is used for to many things diagnosis of the spine.

Hummmmmmmmm the only thing that will help me is to
lose about 40 years off of my age 61 here

Jim

You should make your own post so people will see one lady is getting ADR in Germany and tripleADR has had ADR. Please post again. Charry

So far I know my DDD feels much better when I am active and excercising. But once my L/4/5 was shot for good, that literally forced me to stop excercising. All in all it is frustrating, especially after a large weight loss. Excercise was the only thing that kept me going sometimes. I should have stopped smoking a long time ago. Hopefully once fully recovered from the fusion, I can get back to where I was physically and serious core strengthening.

My 2 cents

I didn't even know I had DDD till this year, I have been dealing with back pain for 8 years had a laminectomy 2 years ago. Then when I went to the doctor he said the same disk, L5-S1 had DDD, he thought it was longer than 8 years that I would have had problems with is regardless, like it was heriditary. But I'm the first person in my family with these kind of issues, so its strange.

If anything, better posture, being less rough on my back, and eating better. If I could do it all over again.

From my experience changing what we had done historically would only have reduced the risk and never curtailed the origin of DDD, that risk is never quantified and left to us to imagine what the possibilities might have been. No research suggests how the pace and rate of change will impact on us as individuals, nothing can be reversed only slowed if the a preferable strategy were to be used. These proposals are always said with hindsight and understanding of this knowledge should prevent any development in the future, that we all know will be questionable.

It might be thought that every disease is preventable that on the basis of the responsibility we have, that is more rhetoric than reality. My sister terminal cancer would not have been omitted in the notion of a good walk or eating more greens, it is fanciful to suggest that the element of responsibility we do have is sufficient for us to eradicate the onset of this debilitating condition. She was a healthy person and even with the benefit of an active lifestyle and all the perceived mode of good health succumbed to its final outcome.

It may well be part of the aging process and that may be acceptable when age is on our side and we have enjoyed the fruits of some youth, having this at any age is not how it is supposed to be. That age analogy may give me some guarantee of longevity and I vote to expire through old age, if nothing else.

This site is evidence that the repair of spines overall is not a clear cut as the medical profession would propose, and some have yet to feel the benefit of pain reduction let alone eradication. Time will decide if these proposals for slowing the rate down has any relevance, that is the wish for everyone here.

John