Disk Desiccation - Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Introduction

The spine is a series of vertebrae that extends down the skull to the sacral region and provides support to the neck, thorax and abdomen, and some parts of the hip. The spinal cord, also known as the backbone, is the most important part of the body responsible for the gait and posture of an individual. It is divided into five regions: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, and coccyx. There are all 24 bones in this region that are movable, and the bones in the sacral and coccyx are fused. The neck has seven vertebrae, twelve in the thoracic and five in the lumbar region. The spine is the main central body support structure, and It has flexibility due to elastic ligaments and the spinal disks in between the vertebrae. The lower part of the backbone is more prone to damage and strain injury.

What Is Disk Desiccation?

In between each vertebra, a spongy disk acts as a shock absorber. Due to extreme wear and tear over time, this disk wears down as a process of degenerative disk disease. This degeneration occurs as a result of fluid loss, which makes the disk dehydrated and results in deformation and shape changes. This reduces the flexibility and height of the disk and affects its functionality. In most cases, it leads to immense pain, neurological compression, and many associated symptoms. Most of the population after the age of 40 experience degeneration of the disk and develop symptoms. For five percent of adults, it leads to intense back pain.

What Types of Conditions Are Caused by Disk Desiccation?

The disk, when it degenerates and cushions wear away, causes bones to rub against each other and to result in immense pain and other associated conditions like:

• Herniated Disk: In this condition, bulges, ruptures, and slipped discs occur.

• Spinal Stenosis: It occurs when spaces around the spine become narrow.

• Adult Scoliosis: The condition that leads to curvature of the spine.

• Spondylolisthesis: Condition where the vertebrae of the spine move in and out of place.

What Are the Causes of Disk Desiccation?

The major and most common cause of disk desiccation is aging. It is normal with aging. After 40 years, most individuals have disk desiccation, though everyone does not experience intense pain.

The causes of disk desiccation include:

• Dry out the cushion-like disk consists of a fluid that is responsible for its flexibility and acts as a shock absorber. With age, this disk loses this fluid resulting in a thinner disk failing to provide shock absorption and leading the bones to rub against each other.

• Crack or tear traumas and injuries can lead to small tears and cracks in the spinal disk. Mostly they occur near nerves. This can be immensely painful. This leads to a crack in the outer wall of the spinal disk resulting in the disk bulging out of its place, this condition is called herniated disk, and this also compresses the spinal nerves near the spine.

What Are the Symptoms of Disk Desiccation?

The most common symptoms of disk desiccation are back and neck pain:

• Early symptoms include a stiff back, accompanied by tingling, pain, and weakness.

• If the disk desiccation leads to loss of height of the disk, the shift in position can lead to affecting the adjacent vertebrae bodies and lead to compress nerves nearby, causing radicular pain and numbness. This pain can radiate to the knees and legs.

• The pain can come and go and lasts for weeks or months.

• Numbness and tingling legs and arms.

• Pain worsens with bending, sitting, and lifting heavy objects.

• Pain radiates down the lower back and buttocks.

How Is Disk Dissection Diagnosed?

Disk desiccation is commonly diagnosed by a common symptom like back pain. Few details regarding the onset of pain, duration, aggravating and relieving factors, and radiating regions are taken into consideration.

Additional testing methods include:

• X-rays.

• Computed tomography (CT) scan.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

• Blood tests.

This test helps to detect the deformation and get detailed imaging of bones and adjacent structures. The diagnosis is confirmed if the disk appears thin or out of position.

What Is the Treatment for Disk Desiccation?

If the disk dissection has no significant pain and not affecting daily activities, no treatment is required.

Home remedies for managing disk desiccation include:

• Brace around the back while lifting heavy objects.

• Avoid uncomfortable and painful positions.

• Increase back strength through core exercise and weight loss.

• Take over-the-counter medications to relieve pain and discomfort.

• In some cases, steroid injections help in relieving pain and inflammation.

• Hot and cold therapy, placing an ice pack, and heating pads every 10 to 15 minutes can help to relieve pain.

• Yoga and other stretching exercises can help relieve pain and discomfort.

In extreme cases, different approaches to surgery help to treat desiccated discs. This procedure includes the following:

• Radiofrequency Neurotomy - Electric currents are used to burn the sensory nerves and this in turn prevents pain signals from reaching the brain.

• Decompression - This surgery removes extra bone and disk that is out of place and creates more room for spinal nerves.

• Fusion - Surgery is done to join the vertebrae together. This stabilizes the back and prevents movements reducing pain and discomfort.

• Correction - This procedure is done to correct the abnormal curvatures of the spine and in turn, helps in relieving pain and increasing the range of motion.

• Implants - Artificial spacers (implants) and disks are placed between the vertebrae to avoid the friction and pain caused by bones rubbing against each other.

Conclusion

Disk dissection is an unavoidable condition. But this condition can be managed by many techniques. Follow a pain management plan if there is extreme back pain due to a desiccated disk. If left untreated and the triggering factors are not removed at the right time, this may lead to serious complications and cause spine misalignment. The best approach to potentially avoid it is practicing a positive lifestyle, staying hydrated, maintaining a healthy weight, being active, and following proper techniques to lift heavy objects.