How Spine Diseases Can Be Debilitating

spinal stenosis

There are many types of spine diseases and people suffering from any of them can be really laid down low. The most common of them is associated with lumbar pain which mainly affects the lower back and is caused by muscle strain or vascular problems or arthritis or a ruptured intervertebral disc. Spine surgery is usually the last resort after all other methods have become ineffective in alleviating the pain. Spine disease treatments can be non-surgical as well as surgical though that is in very severe cases.

Spinal stenosis is a type of spine disease and can take two forms; lumbar spinal stenosis and cervical stenosis. In the former, the lower back gives trouble since the nerve roots over there get compressed or choked and this radiates pain. Sciatic pain where numbness, tingling or pain shoots from the low back into the buttocks or legs especially with activity is also a result of this problem. In the majority of cases, the pain is bad and increases with walking and is reduced with sitting. This is known as claudication which maybe caused by poor circulation in legs. Treatment is only sought if the pain gets debilitating and hampers normal activities severely. Cervical stenosis is a form of spinal stenosis in the neck region and can become far more dangerous because it can compress the spinal cord itself and lead to weakness of the body and in extreme cases, to paralysis.

When the normal curve of the neck begins to straighten, the condition is called cervical kyphosis. This disease can progress to the level where the curve of the neck starts going in the opposite direction from its normal position. The causes of this disease may be ascribed to the wear and tear of degenerative discs wherein the vertebra begins to weaken. Traumatic injuries such as fractures or infections and diseases like osteoporosis as well as congenital conditions also cause this problem. Cervical lordosis is the inward curvature of the neck area in an abnormal way. While the cervical spine should have a typical lordotic curve, some people have an increased curvature whose existence may not be discovered for years. There are hardly any symptoms linked with this disease and only a small number of people may experience any pain.

A bulging disk is also related to spine diseases and occurs when a disc protrudes through the spine. A disc cushions the vertebrae of the spine and when it shifts out of its normal position it is called a bulging disc. The bulging disc normally affects the lower back but sometimes it may happen in the neck causing pain in the shoulders or arms.

Spine diseases can be treated if they are diagnosed in time.