- Anatomy of The Spine
- Back Pain in Children
- Caring for your Spine
- Emerging Spinecare Trends
- Evaluation of Spinal Disorders
- Exercise and The Spine
- Intervention - Spinal Disorders
- Intervertebral Disc
- Non Surgical Options
- Nutrition and Spinecare
- Options for Spine Treatments
- Pregnancy and Back Pain
- Prevalence of Spine Disorders
- Sleep and the Spine
- Spinecare Introduction
- Spinehealth and Disease
- Surgical Interventions
- Treatment with Medications
- Understanding Back Pain
Spinecare Topics
Intervertebral Disc
Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
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Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
Degeneration and Herniation
Repeated mechanical stress and recurrent microtrauma to the disc often results in small tears of the supportive disc (annular) fibers. Annular tears near a vertebral body may cause regional disc separation from the endplate, which will result in additional loss of nutritional diffusion and the flow of water into and out of the disc. This is termed a rim lesion. Small circumferential annular tears can get larger and/or come together (coalesce) forming a route for nuclear material to migrate through. Nuclear material will take the path of least resistance. In some cases the nuclear material of a disc may extrude outside the normal disc boundaries. When this occurs it is referred to a disc extrusion. It may cause compression of spinal membranes (thecal sac), nerve root or spinal cord depending on location.
Disc Degeneration and the Spine (Facet) Joints
There is a pair of spinal joints which lie behind the disc at each level of the spine. Throughout life, the pattern of weight distribution between the disc and spinal joints change. During the first 2-3 decades of life approximately 80-90% of the load placed upon the low back is distributed across the posterior third of the intervertebral disc. If the height of the disc diminishes as the result of age-related changes and degeneration, there is a shift of weight bearing onto the spinal (facet) joints. This places increased stress upon the facets joint surfaces. Frictional and compression forces can further lead to inflammation and arthritic changes. The arthritic changes around the facet joint are characterized by bony thickening and spurring (facet hypertrophy), thickening of the joint capsule and thickening of the surrounding ligaments. These changes can progress to cause narrowing of the central spinal canal and/or narrowing of the lateral openings (neuroforamen) along the side of the spine, a condition referred to as spinal stenosis.
Repeated mechanical stress and recurrent microtrauma to the disc often results in small tears of the supportive disc (annular) fibers. Annular tears near a vertebral body may cause regional disc separation from the endplate, which will result in additional loss of nutritional diffusion and the flow of water into and out of the disc. This is termed a rim lesion. Small circumferential annular tears can get larger and/or come together (coalesce) forming a route for nuclear material to migrate through. Nuclear material will take the path of least resistance. In some cases the nuclear material of a disc may extrude outside the normal disc boundaries. When this occurs it is referred to a disc extrusion. It may cause compression of spinal membranes (thecal sac), nerve root or spinal cord depending on location.
Disc Degeneration and the Spine (Facet) Joints
There is a pair of spinal joints which lie behind the disc at each level of the spine. Throughout life, the pattern of weight distribution between the disc and spinal joints change. During the first 2-3 decades of life approximately 80-90% of the load placed upon the low back is distributed across the posterior third of the intervertebral disc. If the height of the disc diminishes as the result of age-related changes and degeneration, there is a shift of weight bearing onto the spinal (facet) joints. This places increased stress upon the facets joint surfaces. Frictional and compression forces can further lead to inflammation and arthritic changes. The arthritic changes around the facet joint are characterized by bony thickening and spurring (facet hypertrophy), thickening of the joint capsule and thickening of the surrounding ligaments. These changes can progress to cause narrowing of the central spinal canal and/or narrowing of the lateral openings (neuroforamen) along the side of the spine, a condition referred to as spinal stenosis.
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