💥DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE💥 - 🚨 Two of the 3 crossed-out phrases listed in the graphic are technically accurate but seem silly to use, yet 1 is still given as a diagnosis regularly - 💥 "DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE" - 👻 Sounds scary, right?! Well...maybe not. - 📕 Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a process where the intervertebral discs of the spine lose height and hydration - 📚 What if I told you that the available research shows the following percentages of people with NO SYMPTOMS of low back pain had signs of Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) on imaging (CT scan and MRI) results: - 📌 37% of those age 20 📌 52% of those age 30 📌 68% of those age 40 📌 80% of those age 50 📌 88% of those age 60 📌 93% of those age 70 - 🧐 So what can we conclude from these findings? - 🧓🏽 That as we get OLDER, we have higher rates of Disc "Degeneration" - 🚨 We also have higher amounts of WRINKLES on the skin and GRAYING of the hair, yet these aren't diagnosed as DISEASES. They are just accepted as a NORMAL part of the AGING process - 📌 Yes, there are times when loss of spinal disc height may contribute to a person's pain experience, but many times this is not the case (as seen in the research discussed above) - 👨🏻 As the authors of this study summarized: - "Imaging findings of spine degeneration are present in high proportions of asymptomatic individuals, increasing with age. Many imaging-based degenerative features are likely part of normal aging and unassociated with pain. These imaging findings must be interpreted in the context of the patient's clinical condition." - 💯 So next time you hear the diagnosis of "Degenerative Disc Disease", remember that this isn't really a "disease" or something you need to be frightened about...just like wrinkling of the skin or graying of the hair, your spine ages as well. And this NORMAL aging process is POORLY correlated with how much pain you may or may not experience! . . . 📚 Brinjikji et al (2015), “Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations”, AJNR Am J Neuroradiology. . . Dr Ayaz Physiotherapy weight loss hair and skin clinic nallasopara and Virar