Degenerative Disc
Disease

What is Degenerative Disc Disease

The spine is made up of 24 moveable bones called vertebrae and are protected with natural cushioned shock absorbers called discs. The discs also create a passageway or nerve hole (foramen) between the vertebrae for nerves to exit from the spinal cord located in the spinal canal. The nerves in turn connect to all cells, tissues and organs.

The discs are made of soft connective tissue composed largely of collagen and water which keeps the disc firm and resilient. However, due to a combination of trauma and aging it’s possible for the disc to undergo wear and tear, causing a loss of some of its water, leading to thinning and weakening the disc. This disc thinning leads to a reduction of its vertical height as well as the size of the opening of the nerve passageway. This shorter disc and nerve passageway often leads to nerve irritation as well as back pain. Although degeneration of the spinal discs is commonly believed to be a normal part of aging, the effects can be so painful, anything but normal.

What are the Symptoms and Causes of Degenerative Disc Disease?

Degenerative Disc Disease symptoms can range from barely noticeable to debilitating. Common symptoms include:

• Neck pain moving through the upper pine, and through to the shoulder, arms and hands

• Local achy or sharp back pain
• Increased pain when sitting, bending, lifting, and twisting, like with golf
• Serious pain in the lower back, hips, and down the legs
• Tingling and weakness of the knees
• Neck pain moving through the upper pine, and through to the shoulder, arms and hands

Although there are many things that cause Degenerative Disc Disease, the natural aging process plays a major part as our discs become thinner and dryer. However, a spinal injury can also cause Degenerative Disc Disease.

Bulging or Herniated Disc Treatment Options

Dr. Ron Nusbaum created his own unique system of care to deliver rapid, non-invasive, and long-lasting lower back and neck pain relief. The first of its kind in Canada, the High-Performance Healing SystemTM has succeeded where other conventional treatments have failed. The system involves three steps:

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is a non-invasive procedure that delivers painless, precise and accurate targeted stretching of the damaged disc, causing a reduction of pain, inflammation which jumpstarts the healing of the disc and of course the back pain it causes. Think of Spinal Decompression, a kind of an outside in healing approach.

Class IV Summus Therapy

Laser therapy, also called photobiomodulation, is used to help heal the damaged disc responsible for back or neck pain. This powerful, deep penetrating laser light is specifically aimed at the damaged discs. The laser light then interacts with the cells of the damaged discs to ultimately promote pain relief, reduction of inflammation and enhancing tissue repair of the spinal disc. Think of laser therapy as a kind of an inside-out job, just the opposite of spinal decompression.

Disc Renewal Plus™

This all-natural nutritional supplementation system was formulated with the goal to support reduction in pain and inflammation and support the healing of damaged connective tissue (discs are made of this). Disc Renewal Plus™ has a similar role to play in back pain healing as Class IV K-l laser, but from a nutritional perspective. Disc Renewal Plus™ is custom formulated by Dr. Nusbaum and available exclusively only to patients of Back Clinics of Canada.