Recovering from degenerative disc disease is not actually possible or even necessary. DDD is a normal part of the spinal aging process and is not typically accountable for creating any significant pain or related neurological symptoms. It is virtually impossible to undo the degenerative processes which act on the spine, but luckily, it is not a requirement to become pain-free. Remember, even with the most drastic and invasive methods of care aimed at reversing spinal degeneration, the processes will still continue, so any gains made will be transient at best. This is something most patients are never told, along with many other facts of degenerative disc disease.
This report provides guidance on recovering from receiving a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease.
Bodily Recovery from Degenerative Disc Disease
There are a wide range of symptomatic therapy options which are used to treat diagnosed cases of degenerative disc disease. None of these many options will reverse spinal aging or restore health to a deteriorated disc structure. The best a patient can hope for is symptomatic relief and many of the indicated treatments options are poorly designed for even this simple task.
The only possible solutions to the physical changes associated with spinal aging are disc replacement surgery or spinal fusion.
Artificial disc replacement procedures remove the worn out organic intervertebral disc and replace it with a synthetic disc substitute.
Fusion removes the worn out disc material completely and then joins the vertebral bones together so that they can no longer move as naturally designed.
Emotional Recovery from DDD
Most DDD is completely asymptomatic and takes the symptomatic blame unfairly in many diagnosed patients. In essence, there is no reason to consider recovery as being necessary, since the condition is harmless and normal. It is merely a scapegoat on which coincidental neck or back pain is blamed.
However, the diagnosis of DDD, or any spinal abnormality, imparts a serious nocebo effect which can promote fear, anxiety and an escalation of symptomatic activity. While physical recovery is not needed, recuperating from the emotional effects of DDD is crucial.
To accomplish this task, the patient needs to learn the facts of the condition in order to repudiate the damaging psychological suggestions imparted on them. Knowledge therapy can be a great help in this process. The treatment is risk and cost free, making it ideal for treating virtually any psychoemotional consequences related to a dorsalgia syndrome.
Recovering from Degenerative Disc Disease Tips
Do not view degenerative disc disease as a problem and it will not likely become one. Remember that disc desiccation is universal in the lumbar spine and almost universal in the cervical spine. If you have been diagnosed with DDD, it is because you are human, not because you have anything at all wrong with you or your spine. The fear factor is considerable when talking to patients diagnosed with DDD. The very name of the condition is so misleading and frightening.
I vividly recall the emotional effects that this diagnosis had on my young mind at age 16. It was a nightmare which set the stage for decades of protracted suffering. Do not let this be your fate. Learn the reality of DDD and tell your doctor you already know that you have it. You can also tell them that they have it too. If they recommend surgery, consider telling them you will think about it only after you see how well it works, once they have it done themselves.
Herniated Disc > Degenerative Disc Disease > Recovering from Degenerative Disc Disease
