Your body changes as you age and this is particularly true for your back. When you’re young and healthy, your body is more adaptive, and the discs between the 33 vertebrae in your back allows it to bend and twist. With these discs, your back stays flexible but is strong enough to resist force.
However, as you age this changes and while it’s a natural process, it can be incredibly painful with many individuals experiencing some form of degenerative disc disease. The discs in your back shrink and don’t provide the same level of support. Most people will see some sign of this as they get old with magnetic resonance imaging providing clear evidence that everyone over 60 experiences some form of disc degeneration. Thankfully, not everyone will experience back pain as a cause of this. However, some will experience tingling and numbing sensations in legs and arms. While others will discover the facet joints in the vertebrae rubbing against each other causes the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Many people may find that this issue with their back causes problems with leg muscles. This is due to the damaged discs impacting nerve cells around the spine which causes legs to feel incredibly weak.
There are many different treatment options for degenerative disc disease. This includes everything from physical therapy to different anti-inflammatory medications, shots for steroids and even surgery.
However, many experts agree that changes in lifestyle can also provide fantastic benefits. Are you experiencing any signs of symptoms of degenerative disc disease at night? If so, you might want to consider investing in a new bed or mattress.