An injury or a spinal disease like degenerative disc disease, the disc that normally cushions the spinal bones fails to function resulting in friction between the bones. This results in inflammation and excruciating pain every time you move. With age, the disc can become stiff reducing the flexibility of the entire spinal column.
Spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis can also cause damage to the intervertebral discs. You should never ignore any pain that is radiating from the spinal column and should immediately seek help from a reliable spine surgeon in your city. A spine surgeon at Vertebrae will run some diagnostic tests to evaluate the exact cause and suggest if disc replacement in Dayton, OH is the right treatment for you or not.
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Intervertebral disc – Anatomy
The spinal column is made up of bony vertebrae arranged in an interlocking fashion. Each of these vertebrae is separated from each other by a soft tissue disc called the intervertebral disc. This disc functions to prevent friction between the vertebrae when you move, bend or perform any other activity. It also acts as a shock absorber to protect the vertebrae from any injury.
The disc is made up of cartilage-like tissue and has 2 main parts:
- Annulus: Collagen fibers are layered in concentric sheets to form this tough outer layer of the disc.
- Nucleus: A loose network of fibrous tissue is suspended in mucoprotein gel to form the inner-nuclear layer.
If the annulus gets torn or if the gel leaks from the disc, it can impinge the spinal nerves causing a multitude of painful conditions.
Artificial disc replacement
When the disc fails to function or gets injured, your doctor in Dayton, OH will ask you to follow rest and heat/cold compression protocol. You will also be given medicines to relieve the pain. Steroidal injections and physical therapy can also be helpful in many cases.
However, when all these treatment methods fail and you are still showing the following symptoms even after following the conventional treatment for weeks, disc replacement surgery is considered. Symptoms that you need surgery for correcting the problems with intervertebral discs are:
- Constant headache and neck pain.
- Radiating pain from back to arms and shoulders.
- Numbness and weakness in the arms, hands, or shoulders.
- Hot-shooting pain is also called radicular pain in the upper or lower extremities.
During the surgery, the spinal surgeon in Dayton, OH will place artificial discs as a replacement for the damaged intervertebral disc. The artificial disc will mimic the functioning of the normal disc and will alleviate pain and improve your range of motion.