Degenerative Disc Disease Video Series

In this video, Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University, gives a brief definition of degenerative disc disease.  In simple, easy-to-understand terms, Dr. Fessler will help you understand the basics of this condition.

Although it’s most commonly associated with aging, degenerative disc disease can affect younger people as well.  It’s the result of wear and tear on your spine, a process that causes your intervertebral discs to lose their ability to cushion your movements.

To learn more about degenerative disc disease, you can read this informative overview article that includes an illustration of intervertebral disc problems.

Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University, explains the typical symptoms of degenerative disc disease.  This natural aging process may not even cause you pain:  it all depends on where your intervertebral discs have problems and how severely your discs have degenerated.  Most likely, you’ll gradually develop symptoms of DDD.

The most easily identifiable symptom of degenerative disc disease is pain—and usually it’s chronic (or ongoing) pain.  Occasionally, you may have a period of acute pain; that’s a short period of intense pain that comes on quickly.

Degenerative disc disease can affect your neck (cervical spine) or your low back (lumbar spine).  Dr. Fessler focuses on the low back in this video.

To learn more, you can look over this helpful article about symptoms of degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine.

To help you understand the causes of degenerative disc disease, SpineUniverse brought in Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University.  In this video, he goes over the typical causes, such as aging and injury to the spine.

He explains what happens when your intervertebral discs—the cushions between your vertebrae that make it easier for you to move—begin to degenerate.  The disc may bulge or even herniate, which can then push on a nerve and cause your pain or other symptoms.  Dr. Fessler also covers other causes of pain with degenerative disc disease, including bone spurs.

If you want to read more, try this article about the causes of DDD.

Before your doctor can diagnose degenerative disc disease, he or she will have to run a series of exams and tests to narrow down the exact cause of your pain.  In this video, Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University, explains those exams and tests in straightforward language.  He’ll help you really understand what is going to happen to you during the diagnosis process (or maybe you’ve already been through that process but still don’t entirely understand what happened).

Dr. Fessler goes over the physical exam, CT scans, MRIs, myelograms, and more.  You can also read an article on degenerative disc disease exams and tests.

Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University, talks about the non-surgical treatment options for degenerative disc disease.  Conservative treatments are always tried first, except in the most severe cases (where there is, for example, loss of bowel or bladder control).

He points out that time is actually a treatment option.  If your pain isn’t overwhelming or debilitating, you can give it time and see if it improves.  Dr. Fessler also reviews other typical non-surgical options, including medication (he refers to them as analgesics) and physical therapy, which he considers one of the most effective ways to relieve pain.

You can also read this article about non-surgical treatment options for DDD.

As a top neurosurgeon, Dr. Richard Fessler is a trustworthy source when it comes to reviewing your surgical options for degenerative disc disease.  He’s a proponent of minimally invasive surgery.  That’s a type of surgery that uses a smaller incision.  The surgeon then works with very small instruments and with the aid of a microscope.

For degenerative disc disease, one of the most common surgeries is a discectomy, when part of your disc is taken out.  If the surgeon does it with a minimally invasive technique, it’s called a microdiscectomy.

You can also read this article about other surgical options for degenerative disc disease.

Dr. Richard Fessler, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern University, goes over some terms you may hear your doctor use as he or she talks about degenerative disc disease.  Use this video as a quick reference or refresher to help you more fully understand your condition.

Dr. Fessler reviews:

• Intervertebral disc
• Herniated disc
• Bone spur / Osteophyte
• Spinal stenosis