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If you sometimes feel as if you’re hit by lightning when you move your neck, it’s not okay. They may tell you that it’s perfectly normal at your age to experience those shock-like sensations, but it’s not. Your neck symptoms can mean that your cervical discs have lost their hydration for some reason, so you should never leave things as they are. When they become dehydrated, they fail to absorb the shock that comes with movement, which then aggravates into radiant cervical disc pain.
The degeneration process may affect any of your 6 neck discs, and it tends to worsen when you age. It is reported that the condition is diagnosed in 90% of those who are 50+. However, it can also occur in younger patients in their 20s or 30s, especially if they have genetic predispositions.
With its worsening effects and follow-up bone damage, cervical degenerative disc disease causes herniation, osteoarthritis, and even spinal stenosis in some cases. That occurs because your vertebrae lack adequate padding. They then start rubbing and inflicting serious harm to the spine, leading to discomfort down the lower back and limbs. On top of that, when your vertebrae fret with each other over a long time, it gets hardly possible to avoid nerve irritation.
What else may come with cervical disc pain?
As it’s degenerative, this disease is not only about stiffness in the neck and nerve flare-ups. There’s a possibility that constant disc deterioration leads to the narrowing of the spinal canal, which directly affects the spinal cord. Once it takes its toll on the latter, you may be racked with:
- more intense pain that makes your routine activities hard to accomplish
- numbness in the areas down your neck
- coordination problems that can lead to frequent dizziness episodes
- movement difficulties and, as a result, the limited range of motion
These symptoms are linked to the cases where the necessary cervical disc repair hasn’t been received. They are secondary and mainly develop in smokers or those who are suffering from obesity. The thing is that the constant use of tobacco can dry out your discs, while excess weight can intensify the pressure on your spine.
Are there any treatments except cervical degenerative disc disease surgery?
Surgery is like a last-ditch effort, and it’s an option to consider for people who experience lingering neck pain or follow-up neurological symptoms. If this sounds like you, disc replacement and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion are worth taking a look at. Each of these surgeries may help address the root of the problem by stabilizing your spine and relieving the pressure for speedy cervical disc repair.
Yet, you may want to give other options a go. The most recommended cervical degenerative disc disease treatments include:
- Physical therapy. With a deteriorated disc, some movements may make you feel restrained. Try to avoid them and discuss the right mobility improvement regimen with your doctor. He or she can help you plan the best exercise for cervical degenerative disc disease so that you become more flexible again.
- Pills and injections. For symptomatic treatment, you may be prescribed some painkillers and oral steroids to alleviate flare-ups in your neck. If your case is classified as a more severe one, epidural injections are another option. They are given to make medication right into the affected disc for immediate relief.
- PEMF stimulation. As a relatively new treatment modality, PEMF therapy holds promise for the non-invasive improvement of disc health. It works at both tissue and cellular levels to bring in an anti-inflammatory effect in the vertebrae by stirring up signaling pathways and addressing the symptoms. It’s all-natural and doesn’t involve the use of medications.
PEMFs are better paired with cervical degenerative disc disease exercises and other traditional options. When combined, these treatments work most effectively. The regular stimulation with electromagnetic fields will make your neck pain go away, while physical therapy will help you regain your flexibility.
To get rid of your cervical disc problems, talk to your doctor to nail down which PEMF device will be the most beneficial for you. Click on Almag-03 (Diamag) or Almag+ to see how relieving they both are for nerve pain, inflammation, bone spurs, spine damages, etc.