Spinal discs are rubbery cushions between each vertebral bone in your spine. These discs are made of collagen with a gelatinous core, and their primary job is to absorb shock and support your body weight.
While spinal discs are naturally durable, they deteriorate with age — and more than 90% of people show signs of spinal disc degeneration by age 60. Some level of disc breakdown is normal, and it doesn’t always cause other symptoms.
But for some people, spinal disc degeneration causes pain, numbness, and more. In fact, degenerative disc disease is a top cause of chronic back pain, and the damage can’t be reversed.
Thankfully, treatment can make a difference for your symptoms. Eric Fanaee, MD, is a leading pain management specialist in Smithtown and West Islip, New York. He specializes in VIA Disc NP allograft to treat your degenerative disc disease and help you feel like yourself again.
Your spinal discs have three main parts: the annulus fibrosus, the nucleus pulposus, and the cartilaginous endplate.
The annulus fibrosus is the disc’s tough exterior, and it supports most of your body weight. The nucleus pulposus is soft and jelly-like, and it absorbs shock and redistributes weight. The endplates diffuse weight and provide nutrients to the entire disc.
Degenerative disc disease develops when these discs start breaking down. Years of use make discs more fragile and brittle. Water content and nutrients naturally dissipate with age. And as a result, a disc may crack or break.
A fissured or cracked disc changes shape, and it may put pressure on the nerves in your spinal canal. This pressure causes inflammation, which you might feel as pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness.
Degenerative disc disease can happen in any spinal disc, but it’s most common in your cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (lower back). Once a disc starts breaking down, there’s no treatment that will reverse the damage. However, Dr. Fanaee offers a variety of treatments to relieve your most bothersome symptoms.
When back or neck pain starts affecting your life, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Dr. Fanaee and our team provide comprehensive pain assessments to identify the underlying cause and recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Several different treatments can relieve symptoms of degenerative disc disease, and Dr. Fanaee may recommend a combination of:
VIA Disc NP allograft is a nonsurgical treatment for significant pain caused by degenerative disc disease. Allograft is a type of grafting procedure that uses human donor tissue. In this case, the tissue is an off-the-shelf processed nucleus pulposus.
Using a needle, Dr. Fanaee injects the allograft into damaged discs. It supplements the tissue inside spinal discs, increasing their ability to absorb water and improving their function.
The result? Reduced pain and better spinal mobility.
There’s no way to reverse degenerative disc disease. But if you have it, now’s the time to find out if you’re a candidate for VIA Disc NP. Book a consultation with Dr. Fanaee online, or call 631-265-2020 today.
