What is Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)?
Degenerative disc disease of the low back refers to symptoms caused by wear-and-tear on a spinal disc. The intervertebral disc’s function is to attach the vertebral bodies to each other, supplying flexibility and absorbing and distributing the loads applied to the spinal column. With aging, the disc undergoes significant changes in volume, shape and water content as well as in biochemical composition and biomechanical properties
A remarkably interesting fact is that the intervertebral discs start to degenerate and desiccate in the human body in the late twenties. These discs are a part of our body that starts aging prematurely. Lumbar disc herniations are believed to result from annular degeneration that leads to a weakening of the anulus fibrosus, leaving the disc susceptible to annular fissuring and tearing.
