Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain & Sciatica Relief Strategies

The 5 Ds – Degenerative Disc Disease, Diet, and Dehydration
Degenerative Disc Disease Part III

As stated in the previous two articles in this series, degenerative disc disease is not a disease but a process, a condition. Or, better still, degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon or set of phenomena working in concert, and against musculoskeletal health generally, and spine health in particular. Degenerative disc disease affects millions worldwide, one of the principal causes of neck, back, and the sciatic nerve pain as we age.

There are a number of reasons why musculoskeletal health generally, and spine health in particular, degenerates as we grow older. There are a myriad of factors and processes that come into play and affect the overall health of the spine as we age, to include:

• Many begin to carry excess weight, some becoming medically obese.

• Our muscles weaken as we age, particularly when living a sedentary lifestyle.

• Muscle imbalances are common and widely misunderstood.

• Inadequate diet and nutrition is a fact of life for many reasons, around the world.

• Inadequate hydration and/or dehydration is a reality for many of us.

We have touched upon the first three of the above factors contributing to degenerative disc disease in the first two parts in this series. In this article, we will deal with the fourth and fifth factors on this list:

• Inadequate diet and nutrition

• Inadequate hydration and/or dehydration

In many ways, the final two factors are the most important for reasons we will discuss below (note: the number of factors affecting spine health is by no means restricted to the five mentioned previously and above but they are the most important).

Degenerative disc disease generally leads to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at one point or another in our lives, particularly as we age.

Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVDs or discs) may lead to a bulging or herniated (ruptured) disc. When the disc bulges or ruptures posteriorly (to the back), the disc material may affect (i.e., irritate or impinge) the nerve root and lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica…depending on the level affected. Disc degeneration, depending on how severe and at what level, may lead to a cascading or ripple effect. Whereby, discs above and below the affected IVD begin to come under increasing levels of stress and may bulge or rupture, particularly if they have started to degenerate, as well. This sort of ripple effect can be very difficult to treat and neck or back surgery is generally ill advised, the likelihood of failed back surgery syndrome is a reality.

In an individual with advanced degenerative disc disease, the prognosis is generally not good and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica may be chronic and pervasive throughout the spine.

While the above scenario sounds dire, there is a way out!

We have discussed excess weight and/or obesity, muscle weakness, and muscle imbalance in the previous two parts in this series. Diet and nutrition and hydration are crucial to tying it all together and, without attention to these final two factors, the likelihood of a good outcome when dealing with degenerative disc disease is almost nonexistent.

Diet, Nutrition, and Dehydration

Without proper diet and nutrition, and without adequate hydration, meaning an adequate intake of water on a daily basis, our body cannot ward off the effects of age nor can it replenish and rebuild itself, as is required for overall spine health. There are a number of reasons why diet and nutrition, or rather inadequate diet and inadequate nutrition come into play, particularly as we age. Many of the reasons for inadequate diet and nutrition are cultural, some are biological, and many more are economic. For many throughout the world, it is a combination of all three. However, for the majority of us in the western world it is a matter of lifestyle. In very much the same way a sedentary lifestyle often affects disc degeneration, leading to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, a busy lifestyle, one where meals a gulped down and little attention is paid to nutrition and balanced meals, the outcome may be the same.

Rebuild and Replenish: The Consequences of Aging

When little attention is paid to diet and nutrition, the body simply cannot ward off the effects of aging and cannot repair and rebuild itself. As we live our lives, the body generally, and spine in particular is placed under severe stress and often must deal with traumatic events on a daily basis. If the spine is healthy and has plenty of material to rebuild itself, the stress and even isolated trauma is generally handled quite nicely. However, as spine health begins to deteriorate and the process of disc degeneration is initiated, combined with an inadequate diet lacking the proper nutrients, the breakdown in overall spine health is exponential and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica becomes a reality. This is easily offset, if caught early enough, and may be arrested even in more advanced cases, provided proper attention is paid to nutrition and diet…meaning what and when we eat.

Dehydration: A Fact of Life for Millions

The final component to be dealt with in this article, the last of the five factors contributing to degenerative disc disease; and, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is dehydration or simply inadequate hydration. The intervertebral discs are made up of approximately 85% water. During the course of the day we lose a great deal of water through a variety of processes and functions. By the end of the day, providing we do not take in adequate amounts of water, we go into water debt. The debt is difficult to repay and the damage done, if this debt is ongoing, is substantial. Water is crucial to bodily function and is necessary for cell health, for rebuilding and repairing various anatomical structures, and for overall physiology. Meaning, without water the structure and the function of the body is negatively affected.

When it comes to spine health, dehydration leads to intervertebral disc degeneration because the main component of the IVDs, water, is lacking.

In today’s world, we take in large amounts:

• Soft drinks, many with caffeine and sodium.

• Coffee and tea, both with high levels of caffeine and/or related substances.

• Alcohol, more destructive and in more ways than we can address here.

• Sports drinks, perhaps the worst when it comes to sodium.

• Energy Drinks, perhaps the worst of all for sodium, caffeine, and a number of other substances (chemicals)!

In every instance, in every drink listed above, there is one common factor, they are all diuretic. Consequently, they all negatively impact the body’s overall ability to hold water. As a result, and because they are the staff of life for millions of people around the world, almost all of us drink them, many of us are in a constant state of dehydration…and don’t even know it.

The constant state of dehydration leads to inadequate amounts of the necessary component for proper spine health, water.

Dehydration also leads to significant problems at the cellular level. If there is not enough water for the body to properly conduct the business of life, it will rob the resources it needs from other areas, in this case the body will find the water necessary for day-to-day existence and the overall health of the spine will suffer. The constellation of behaviors and consequences above leads to disc degeneration.

The IVD degeneration leading to degenerative disc disease and, you guessed it:

• Neck Pain

• Back Pain

• Sciatic Nerve Pain or Sciatica

So, what is the answer?

Actually, the solution is not as complex or as overwhelming as it may appear. In order to offset the consequences of aging, particularly the consequences with a behavioral component, we need to adjust our behavior. If we adjust our behavior by addressing the negative impact of the 5 factors on the body generally, and the musculoskeletal system and spine specifically, we may be well on the way to our very own Fountain of Youth.

By addressing the factors leading to a breakdown at the cellular level (i.e., diet and nutrition, dehydration), addressing the behaviors affecting the musculoskeletal system (i.e., the 5 factors), and integrating a plan to focus on the body as a whole (i.e., diet, exercise, and education), we will insure proper spine health and may be able to alleviate and/or eliminate the consequences of degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you are ready to begin the process of changing your behavior and dealing with your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, as well as your degenerative disc disease, simply click here and take the next step! If you make the decision and take the first step, you will never regret it. And, you may discover your very own Fountain of Youth!

Degenerative Disc Disease and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Treatment and Relief: Part II

Contrary to what many in the medical community would have you believe, degenerative disc disease is not a disease at all, it is a condition. In fact, degenerative disc disease is a symptom of a breakdown in the overall health of the musculoskeletal system, generally. And, it is a symptom of deterioration in the health of the spine, specifically. Significantly, degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon affecting millions worldwide, one of the primary causes of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, primarily as we age.

Let me restate my main points:

• Degenerative disc disease is not a disease, it is a condition!

• Degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon. Or, more accurately, it is an age-progressive constellation of phenomena.

• Degenerative disc disease is actually several phenomena, meaning there are several age-related factors working against us, and our spines, in concert as we age.

• Degenerative disc disease is age-progressive, behavioral, and preventable!

There are many factors that come into play, affecting the musculoskeletal system generally, and the spine specifically. Consequently, some of the factors affecting spine health contribute to degeneration of the spine generally and the intervertebral discs (IVDs or discs), specifically; and, there is a ripple effect as the breakdown in one system impacts and affects the next, and so on.

The degeneration of the spine leads to specific and often serious consequences. Some of the consequences associated with spinal degeneration include structural changes, as in the case of degenerative disc disease.

Some of the structural changes include:

• Bony spurs, also known as osteophytes. Osteophytes generally appear in direct response to stress or a traumatic event. The overall appearance of osteophytes,
and the associated bridging (a fusion or near-fusion of osteophytes across the intervertebral space), mimics the curvatures of the spine in frequency, with the secondary curvatures being more commonly affected. The secondary curvatures being those of the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) regions. The presence of osteophytes may be asymptomatic, meaning no pain or other symptoms are apparent, or they may lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the level and severity.

• Stenosis. Stenosis is a narrowing of various spinal openings, known as foramen, by the deposition of bone. Bony deposition may also be a consequence of ossification and/or calcification of connective tissue adjacent to the foramen. The intervertebral foramen allow the spinal nerve roots to exit the spinal canal. Pressure, stress and/or trauma on and of the nerve roots, either as a consequence of stenosis or as a result of bulging or herniated discs, will often lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the severity and the level of the spine affected.

• Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis may cause abnormal bone deposition, often leading to stenosis, osteophytosis (the creation of osteophytes), and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Osteoarthritis generally affects the secondary curvatures with greater frequency and intensity, particularly as we age. In our 60s, 70s, and 80s osteoarthritis may be every bit as common a factor in neck pain, back pain, and sciatica as degenerative disc disease. In fact, the often co-present in the same individual and are interrelated.

• Changes to the intervertebral discs. Changes to the IVDs occur as a consequence of the five factors mentioned above, all five contributing to degenerative disc disease, and other age-progressive phenomena, such as osteoarthritis and osteophytosis, also affected by the five factors. Changes in the intervertebral discs is one of the primary causes of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

• Connective tissue damage, including ossification and calcification. The reasons for a breakdown in the connective tissue associated with the spine can in large measure be traced back to the five factors. However, factors such as ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and several other conditions, diseases, and traumatic events may contribute to a breakdown of the connective tissue, particularly the spinal ligaments. The breakdown of the spinal ligaments is one of the principle factors contributing to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

• The vertebrae (vertebral bodies). As stress transfers from the muscles to the connective tissue and on to the intervertebral discs, the stress and associated trauma adversely affects and impacts the vertebrae. When the vertebrae are adversely affected by stress and trauma meant to be handled by other components of the musculoskeletal system generally, and the spine specifically, the vertebrae undergo structural changes. Often when the vertebrae are stressed, osteophytes and osteophyte bridges occur. The osteophytes may be an adaptive response on the part of the spine to stress normally handled by the musculature, connective tissue, and intervertebral discs.

The structural changes listed above, incomplete as the list may be, provides a window into how interconnected and interrelated the spine is as a living system and how one component’s health directly affects the overall spine health.

As noted above and in part one, some of the factors contributing to a breakdown of spine health include:

• Excess weight and/or obesity

• Muscle weakness

• Muscle imbalance

• Inadequate diet and nutrition

• Dehydration

The five principle factors listed above, along with other contributory factors, negatively impact the musculoskeletal system and place stress on the spine generally, and its components individually. Consequently, stress on the spine often creates a breakdown in the overall health of the system and degeneration of the individual components, including the intervertebral discs or IVDs (or more simply, the discs), thus leading to a myriad of consequences…including degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

As stated in part one, stress placed on the spine as we age may be traced, in part, back to excess weight and/or obesity. Excess weight sets in place a ripple effect throughout the spine. The excess weight often leads to exaggerated spinal curvatures. The exaggerated curvatures of the spine stress the musculature, particularly the core muscles of the lower back and abdomen. Muscle weakness leads to back strain and back sprains. Muscle weakness may also lead to muscle imbalance, although muscle imbalances may also occur in otherwise healthy individuals, something we will address in an upcoming article. Muscle weakness and muscle imbalance may also exacerbate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

Interestingly, muscle weakness and muscle imbalance may lead to exaggerated spinal curvatures. Exaggerated spinal curvatures may lead to muscle weakness and muscle imbalance. All four factors, excess weight and/or obesity, exaggerated spinal curvatures, muscle weakness, and muscle imbalance will lead to a breakdown in the connective tissue, particularly the spinal ligaments, and the intervertebral discs (IVDs), thus leading to degenerative disc disease. The vertebrae themselves are affected by the stress being transferred from muscle, to ligament, to IVD, to vertebral body, leading to osteophytosis and other bony changes.

All of the above related factors will result in neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the level of the spine affected. In later life, the health of the spine becomes adversely affected and debilitating pain and disability may result. The entire process is often accelerated by decades when the five factors work in concert and against the musculoskeletal system and the spine, leading to early onset degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

As the spinal system begins to break down, as demonstrated above, the impact is often across the board, meaning as one component breaks down they all do, one affecting the next. Degeneration of the intervertebral discs may and often does occur, thus leading to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

In part three we will examine the final two factors, inadequate diet and nutrition, and inadequate hydration or dehydration. The final two factors to be examined are as important, if not more-so, depending on the individual. Diet, nutrition, and hydration may affect and impact not only the overall spine health but the body’s ability to heal and rebuild itself when stressed and during and after a traumatic event.

Ultimately, the five factors contribute to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, they must be dealt with in the context of an entire system and not as singular entities if neck pain, back pain, and sciatica treatment is to be effective and pain relief lasting.

To your health!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, Do you want to start right away? Are you ready to be rid of your neck pain, back pain or sciatica? Do you want to find real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief? Just click this link and start today!

PPS, Or go to my other neck pain, back pain, and sciatica blog and follow us, join us, as we create a new future in time for the New year…one without pain, one with real and lasting pain relief!

Contrary to popular belief, while one of the primary causes of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, primarily as we age, degenerative disc disease is not a disease, it is a condition. Degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon. It’s actually several phenomena, meaning there are several age-related factors working against us, and our spines, all at once as we age!

Degenerative Disc Disease is Age-Progressive, Behavioral, and Preventable!

Degenerative Disc Disease: Excess Weight and/or Obesity

In fact, degenerative disc disease is a natural, albeit somewhat preventable, age-progressive phenomenon that occurs as we age and our muscles, connective tissue, intervertebral discs (IVDs), and vertebrae weaken. As we age, we tend to put on and carry excess weight, some people becoming obese. The added weight places additional stress on the curvatures of the spine, particularly in the cervical (neck pain) and lumbar (lower back pain) regions. However, the thoracic and sacral regions will also experience stress, creating the related upper and middle back pain, as well as lower back pain and even sacroiliac joint dysfunction (a somewhat related condition). Overall, excess weight is the biggest single contributor to back pain of any kind, and particularly lower back pain and sciatica. As we gain weight, and as the various curvatures experience greater stress, the muscles, connective tissue (especially the ligaments), the intervertebral discs, and the vertebrae have to do more work and the once healthy back will begin to become stressed, its balance no longer sustainable, and as a result we experience neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica…depending on the level most affected.

Degenerative Disc Disease: Muscle Weakness

As we gain weight, and as the curvatures of the spine are adversely affected as a result of additional weight, the muscles weaken, particularly the core muscles of the spine and abdomen. The abdominal and back muscles weaken as a result of the additional strain placed upon them and because of the sedentary lifestyle usually associated with weight gain…and aging. The weakened musculature, associated with inactivity, lack of exercise, and weight gain, will create a shift in the stress handling mechanisms of the spine, thus transferring much of the work usually done by the muscles of the spine and abdomen to the ligaments, intervertebral discs (IVDs), and the vertebrae. Consequently, as a result of the added weight and/or obesity, combined with the loss of muscle tone and strength, the stress transfers and the spine is more vulnerable to insult and injury, as well as “normal” age-progressive phenomena, such as degenerative disc disease.

Degenerative Disc Disease: The Spinal System and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

As you can no doubt see by now, the entire system in interconnected, one component dependent upon the next and the overall health of the spine affected by a breakdown at any one level (curvature) or by one component (muscles, connective tissue, IVDs or vertebrae). A breakdown at any point makes the entire system more vulnerable to injury or degeneration…with the resulting neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

Degenerative Disc Disease and Connective Tissue: The Ligaments

The next spinal component at risk is the connective tissue, the tendons and ligaments, and particularly the ligaments of the spine. The two major ligaments, and there are far too many to cover all of them in this article (e.g., the anterior costotransverse ligaments and the interarticular ligaments, to name just two more of many), are the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments. The anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments are very important and are central to the overall health of the spine for a number of reasons. The ligaments provide stabilization and strength along the entire length of the spine. As their name implies, they run longitudinally from the cervical region down the entire length of the spine to the sacrum and connect one vertebral body to the next via the intevertebral discs. The makeup of the anterior and posterior ligaments are somewhat different; and, they have a complex structure and a variety of functions. However, they are crucial to the overall health of the back and, when they are stressed, either as a result of a single event or as the result of excess weight, muscle weakness or muscle imbalance, the entire system is at risk. A loss of strength and/or stabilization may have an immediate and far reaching impact on the spine, resulting in neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

Degenerative Disc Disease and Intervertebral Discs: IVDs and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The intervertebral discs, IVDs, or simply discs are the next major component in the spinal system affecting and affected by a breakdown in the system, either as a consequence of aging generally or excess weight, muscle weakness, muscle imbalance, connective tissue issues and stress (including various stress-related injuries, trauma, ossification and calcification), specifically. The intervertebral discs are made up of approximately 80 to 85 percent water. The IVDs are also the spine’s shock absorbers, also responsible, along with the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments mentioned above, for stabilization and strength. The IVDs are made up of two parts, the annulous fibrosus and the nucleus pulposus, a cartilaginous outer ring system and a center gel-like substance. The IVDs have been referred to as a kind of jelly donut, with the gel in the middle being held in place by the outer cartilage and responsible for much of the impact absorption. They are also responsible for the height of the spine, maintaining a set distance between vertebrae, which allows the spinal nerves to leave the spinal canal without injury or stress. It is the intervertebral disc, its height, resilience, and strength, all related to disc health, that directly impacts and affects the presence and level of neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

Degenerative Disc Disease: A Constellation of Behavioral Factors

Significantly, as the system begins to break down, as described above, or as the result of a single stress-related injury, the disc may undergo significant change. The changes in the disc over time, as a result of aging combined with excess weight, muscle weakness, muscle imbalance, loss of connective tissue strength and stability, and two additional factors, inadequate diet and nutrition, and inadequate hydration or dehydration may cause the intervertebral discs to break down, resulting in neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica. The combination of aging and the constellation of other contributory factors leads to what is commonly called a disease, in this case degenerative disc disease. Interestingly, degenerative disc disease is not a disease but a combination of consequences, all but one traced back to behavior.

The age-progressive nature of degenerative disc disease is related to the following:

1. As we age, we generally gain weight, some of us becoming obese.
2. As we age, and we generally gain weight, some of us becoming obese, and our muscles weaken due to inactivity and/or a sedentary lifestyle.
3. As we age, and we generally gain weight…and our muscles weaken due to inactivity…the connective tissue breaks down as our muscles can no longer do the job alone and thus the stress is transferred to the connective tissue.
4. As we age, and we generally gain weight…and our muscles weaken due to inactivity…the connective tissue breaks down as our muscles can no longer do the job alone…stress is transferred to the connective tissue…the stress is then transferred to the intervertebral discs which break down due to the stress from the above mentioned factors and due to muscle imbalance, inadequate diet and nutrition, and inadequate hydration and/or dehydration.

Interestingly, I am certain I could probably stretch the above 4 points out to between 10 and 12, perhaps even more, before even starting to stretch things. But I hope you get the overall message here, that degenerative disc disease, while associated with aging, is actually linked to a constellation of behaviors; and, it is the behaviors over time that lead to the degeneration of the IVDs and not a disease process. The degeneration of the discs over time results in the entire system being more susceptible to insult and injury…and not a disease process but a behavioral constellation of factors.

Does degenerative disc disease lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica?

Certainly!

Degenerative Disc Disease and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica: The Prognosis?

Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Treatment and Relief!

However, the impact of the process we call a disease can be overcome to a great extent, depending of course on how much damage has been done prior to starting the right sort of treatment strategy; and, it can certainly be slowed down, if not halted entirely, through behavior modification combined with an intelligent, overall program of diet, exercise, and treatment. If applied properly, a neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica relief and treatment strategy can offset, alleviate, and in many cases even eliminate many of the consequences of degenerative disc disease.

In the second part of this article we will explore the other factors responsible for degenerative disc disease and some of the neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment strategies many have used to find real and lasting pain relief.

Do you want to start right away? Are you ready to be rid of your neck pain, back pain or sciatica? Do you want to find real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief? Just click this link and start today!

Or go to my other neck pain, back pain, and sciatica blog and follow us, join us, as we create a new future in time for the New year…one without pain, one with real and lasting pain relief!

Have questions, comments, feedback? Leave it here or contact me directly!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526 (Home/Business)
866-835-2913 (Toll Free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com