Degenerative Disc Symptoms

Symptoms of degenerative disc disease (a breakdown in a spinal disc) vary, depending on the location of the disc affected and the degree of deterioration. These potential symptoms may occur intermittently or chronically and range from annoying to debilitating. Control the frequency of symptoms by following your physician's instructions for care of your spine.

Pseudoclaudication

• Stand or walk for long periods of time with degenerative disc disease and you may experience pseudoclaudication, pain or cramping in your legs. Sit down or bend forward to ease the pain, but it will return upon prolonged standing. Pseudoclaudication pain worsens if you walk downhill. Compressed nerves in the lumbar (lower) spine trigger pseudoclaudication.

Back/Hip Pain

• If you experience pain that starts in your hip or buttocks and radiates down the back of one leg, you may have lumbar disc degeneration. The pain worsens when you sit for prolonged periods. It may extend into your foot. There may be tingling, weakness or numbness associated with the pain.

Neck/Shoulders

• Cervical disc degeneration manifests as pain in the neck and shoulders, sometimes radiating down into the arm. If the spinal cord is compressed by the degeneration, you may also experience muscle weakness in the legs and difficulty walking.

Other Symptoms

• Frequent falling or feelings of clumsiness can result from cervical spinal cord pressure on the nerves affecting balance. When degenerative disk disease influences the nerves controlling bladder or bowel function, you may experience urinary or stool incontinence on some level. A sensation or sound of grating in the spine as you move or twist may indicate disc degeneration. As the disc deteriorates, the vertebrae can rub against each other or form bone spurs that can rub.

Process

• Degenerative changes may be a result of injury, aging or illness. The process may include herniated disc, spinal stenosis, ligament changes, osteoarthritis or spinal tumors. Damage does not spontaneously heal, although you may experience pain free periods. The degeneration will typically progress over a period of several years.

Help

• Pain relievers may be of some benefit. If weight is a factor in deterioration, weight loss can help. Other treatments include a supportive brace, electrotherapy and exercise. Physical therapy and physiatry offer relief as well. Physiatry is a specialized field that combines physical medicine and rehabilitation to focus on "treating acute and chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders while restoring function. The physiatrist is a physician who treats a wide range of problems from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries," at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. In extreme cases, physicians may recommend surgery.