Discopathy: what it is, what the symptoms are and how to treat it

Discopathy is a more or less serious pathology that affects the spine and consists in the deterioration of a disc.

When you suffer from back pain , the causes can be different. Discopathy is one of those that we tend to consider less frequently but that can occur quite often. This is the more or less severe deterioration of a ring (or disc) between one vertebra and the other. Its deterioration leads to more or less severe pain and the extent of which depends on the level of severity.

Discopathy: how to recognize it

Generally, the diagnosis of disc disease is made by the doctor following thorough checks on the spine and among which include the CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging. It is a problem that can occur at the cervical or lumbar level and which presents itself with severe pain. The deterioration of the disc, which once compromised no longer performs its function as a shock absorber bearing in the best possible way, causes movement problems.

The causes can be as diverse as excessive body weight , work that is too tiring for the back, a sedentary lifestyle or physical activity without the right controls. The symptoms are different and the most common are:

– Neck pain resulting in arm pain
– Back pain resulting in pain in the leg
– Difficulty moving
– Loss of strength
– Loss of sensation in the upper and lower limbs

Obviously, in the case of neck pain or simple back pain, there may be other reasons as well. For this reason, in case of persistent pain it is always better to be seen by your doctor.

How to cure disc disease

Disc disease tends to worsen over time leading to increasing difficulty in making even simple movements such as getting out of bed or getting dressed. Generally the recommended treatments in case of problems are conservative. Among these are:

– Physiotherapy
– Postural education
– Massages
– Exercises to be done at home on the advice of the specialist doctor
– Tecar
– Ozone therapy
– Mesotherapy
– Deep infiltrations with the use of cortisone
– Taking muscle relaxants or pain relievers

To all this must be added a healthy life, with good nutrition, a minimum of physical activity (the recommended way), and the prohibition to make efforts. When all of this fails, surgery to repair worn parts may be required.