Spine and Neck

As you age, the discs in your spine (the “springs” between each vertebra) degenerate, meaning they lose their flexibility and ability to cushion your spine.

Symptoms of degenerative disc disease include:

• A major injury that is followed by sudden and unexpected back pain
• A small injury followed by sudden back pain
• Back or neck pain that starts gradually and gets progressively worse

Many treatment options are available for degenerative disc disease including physical therapy, medication, and holistic therapies like acupuncture. In severe cases, spinal injections and surgery may need to be considered. Most cases, however, do not require these more aggressive types of treatment.

Learn more about degenerative disc disease.

The discs between vertebrae are made of a gel-like center called the nucleus pulposis and a tougher outer wall called the annulus. When you have a herniated disc, the nucleus ruptures and pours out through a weak spot in the annulus.

Symptoms of a herniated disc depend on the location of the herniation. Symptoms of a herniated disc in the low back region include:

• Pain that radiates from your lower back, down one or both legs, and sometimes in your feet
• Pain that feels like an electric shock when you stand, walk or sit
• Increased pain when you bend, lift, twist or sit
• Numbness or tingling in your leg or foot
• Leg muscle weakness
• Knee or ankle reflex loss
• In severe cases, you could experience tripping, falling, or even foot drop (your foot flops when you walk)

Symptoms of a herniated disc in the neck or mid-back region may include:

• Pain in neck, mid back or shoulder blades
• Pain that radiates down arm, hand or fingers
• Mid-back pain that travels around rib cage
• Numbness and tingling in the shoulder or arm
• Weakness in the arm or hand
• Clumsiness, dropping things

Again, there are many conservative treatment options for a herniated disc, and most patients don’t need surgery. Non-surgical options include physical therapy, holistic therapies, steroid injections and medications.

Learn more about herniated disc.

Your sciatic nerves run down the lengths of both your legs. When a herniated disc, muscle strain or bone spurs (abnormal bone growths) put pressure on one of them, you experience sciatica. This pain can be acute or chronic.

Symptoms of sciatica include:

• Pain that starts in the lower back and buttocks, that may travel down the back of your thigh, past your knee and sometimes into your calf and foot
• Pain that feels worse in your leg than in your back
• Numbness or tingling in your leg or foot

Sciatica can often be managed by resting, using a heating pad, or doing gentle stretches. Medication, physical therapy, injections and surgery (in severe cases) are also among the treatment options when necessary.

Learn more about sciatica.

Spinal fractures are most often caused by forceful impacts such as motor vehicle collisions, falls, or sports injuries, but also may occur with lesser traumas in patients with weakened bones due to osteoporosis. Injuries can range from relatively mild ligament and muscle strains, to fractures and dislocations of the bony vertebrae, to spinal cord damage. At times spinal fractures can damage the support structures of the spine, including the joints, leading to instability.

Symptoms of a spinal fracture include:

• Back or neck pain
• Numbness or tingling
• Muscle spasms
• Bowel or bladder changes
• Paralysis
• Weakness in the arms, hands, legs and feet

Depending on the severity, you may only need braces or orthotics to stabilize your spine while you heal naturally. Severe spinal fractures require surgery. Treatment for spinal fractures also includes managing your pain, and may require medication management as well activity changes, as appropriate.

Learn more about spinal fractures.

The system that keeps your vertebrae in place is a delicate one.

Spondylosis is a degenerative process affecting the vertebral disc and facet joints that gradually develops with age. Learn more about spondylosis.

Spondylolisthesis occurs when the bones connecting the upper and lower facets moves out of normal alignment with one vertebrae, slipping forward or backward relative to the next vertebrae. At times this can be associated with the vertebrae shifting as you bend forward and backward (called instability). If you’ve developed spondylosis, you have a greater chance of spondylolisthesis occurring as well.

Symptoms of spondylosis and spondylolisthesis aren’t always pronounced, and often these conditions are found by accident. Some of the symptoms you may experience include:

• Lower back pain
• Stiffness
• Muscle spasms
• Sciatica
• Numbness, tingling in the legs or feet
• Leg pain that is worse when you stand, walk or bend.

There are several treatment options available for spondylosis and spondylolisthesis, and surgery is often not necessary. Other options include: physical therapy, medication, spinal injections and holistic therapies. Braces may be used to assist in posture management, but should not be used as the sole form of treatment.