3 Major Stages of Spinal Degeneration

Your spine needs continual maintenance and care. The more you take care of it, the longer it and you will stay healthy. As you age your spine ages with you and slowly begins to lose its ability to function. However, some conditions can speed up the process of degeneration:

• Genetics
• Health issues
• Trauma

If left undiagnosed, spinal degeneration can lead to severe complications. You need to contact your spinal-care expert as soon as you observe any kind of spine-related problem.

Three Stages of Spinal Degeneration

Each stage of spinal degeneration can have its own symptoms. Your spine can degenerate in three stages:

Stage 1: First your spine begins to lose fluid which causes a decrease in disc volume (your discs help cushion your spine as you move). Most people do not experience any pain or symptoms as this starts to happen; but some people could start to experience joint problems and spinal stenosis. Some people may also have physical changes, such as loss of height.

Stage 2: In stage 2 your body starts to deform and the spine starts to lose its normal curvature and structure at this stage. This change in the curvature of your spine can be detected through bone scans. Space between the discs starts to narrow even more causing your discs to bulge. Bone spurs start to become more noticeable at this stage of spinal degeneration and you can become unstable. You can still reverse this process, but it is getting worse and time is running out to correct the problem.

Stage 3: At this stage you can start to have nerve damage, permanent scar tissue, bone deformities and weakness in the whole body.  More loss of height and energy can also happen.

After these three (3) stages, bones can start to fuse together (ankyloses), the spinal column will become narrower (Spinal stenosis) you can start to experience possible mental difficulty and disability and restoration of normal function is unlikely.

Treatment for Spinal Degeneration

Chiropractors can evaluate your spinal condition and suggest a customized treatment program to make the condition better. DCs include methods that restore your posture, spinal position, fix subluxations and improve the functions of your spine. Proper spinal care and manipulation by a certified, experienced chiropractor is the way to overcome/repair spinal degeneration.

Don’t wait for things to get worse.  Preventative care is much more effective and helpful than trying to reverse a problem.  Visit Dickson Chiropractic care Center in Tennessee and talk with our experts about this condition today.