CAUSES
- Dehydrated disks - Disks act like cushions between the vertebrae in our spine. By the age of 40, most people's spinal disks begin drying out and shrinking, which allows more bone-on-bone contact between the vertebrae
- Bone spurs - Disk degeneration often results in the spine producing extra amounts of bone in a misguided effort to strengthen the spine. These bone spurs can sometimes pinch the spinal cord and nerve roots
- Stiff ligaments - Ligaments are cords of tissue that connect bone to bone. Spinal ligaments can stiffen with age, making the neck or back less flexible
Sign & symptoms
Different people experience disc degeneration in different ways, with varying manifestations. Symptoms can differ depending on the location and the specific type of disc degeneration, and what that breakdown of the disc is doing to surrounding nerves and tissue
