osteopathy & chiropractic for degenerative conditions

What are the stages of degenerative disc disease?
Degenerative disc disease can be categorised by 4 stages.
Stage 1 is the least severe and stage 4 is the most severe.

Stage 1: In the 1st stage, the spine may loose its normal balance or arch, affecting the posture and inducing stress to the nerves and accelerated ageing process.
You are not likely to feel any pain in this stage but you might experience a sense of discomfort. You may also feel sluggish or experience changes in your posture to compensate for the slight degeneration of the discs.

Stage 2: In this stage, you may witness increased postural changes as the degeneration is greater. It has been projected that by age 40, about 78% of men and women exhibit moderate disc degeneration. During this phase, a person is much more likely to feel intermittent aches and pains as well as tiredness. Unfortunately, many people consider that the reduced energy and aches and pains are normal and not a sign of degenerative disc disease.

Stage 3: Further postural changes occur in this stage. This is also associated with additional damage to the spine due to the possibility of severe nerve compression. Bone spurs may form and compress the nerves, leading to radiating pain and increased feeling of tiredness and exhaustion

Stage 4: In the end stage or in advanced degenerative disc disease, the intervertebral disc degenerates and the disc space collapses resulting in herniation of the inner disc material through the disc wall. MRI or a CT scan may also reveal visible changes in the bony portion of the neighboring vertebrae. The pressure of the herniated disc on the nerves leads to pain and neurological symptoms. The symptoms of advanced degenerative disc disease depend largely on which spinal level the pathology occurs and the amount of herniation or stenosis involved.