Naperville's Dr. Hagmeyer Explains The Most Common Cause of Neck Pain

A disc is made up of connective tissue, which wears normally as we age. However, many of the problems that cause neck pain are from abnormal wear and tear. This process is called degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Degeneration often results from small injuries that may not cause pain at the time the injuries actually occur. Over time, these injuries add up and the abnormal wear and tear can weaken the connective tissue that makes up the disc. Once the connective tissue is weak, sudden stress, such as a whiplash type movement, may injure the disc more easily. The entire process of disc degeneration is sometimes referred to as spondylolysis. You may hear your doctor refer to your neck problem as spondylolysis of the cervical spine.

To really understand neck pain, you need an understanding of the wear and tear process, called disc degeneration. This will also help you later understand what can happen to the neck when a sudden injury can cause immediate pain and dysfunction.

Degenerative Disc Disease
To help you understand disc degeneration, compare a spinal segment to two vanilla wafers (the "vertebrae") and a marshmallow (the "disc"). Imagine a fresh marshmallow between the two wafers. When you press the wafers close together, the marshmallow gives or "squishes out". Suppose you leave the marshmallow out for a week and it starts to dry out. When you press it between the wafers, it is not quite as spongy. If you press hard enough, the outside of the marshmallow may even tear or split. Suppose you left the marshmallow out for a month. It would probably be so dried out it would be hard and very thin and would not have any "shock absorbing" ability.

As we age, the disc loses some of its water content and, as a result, some of its shock absorbing ability. Like the marshmallow, the first changes that occur in the disc are tears in the outer ring of the disc, called the annulus. Tears in the annulus may occur without symptoms. Therefore, you may not notice when they occur or what caused them. These tears heal by forming scar tissue. Scar tissue is weaker than normal tissue. Repeated injuries and tears cause more wear and tear to the disc. As the disc wears, it loses more of its water content. It becomes less and less "spongy", eventually no longer able to act as a shock absorber.
As the disc continues to wear, it begins to collapse. The space between each vertebra becomes smaller. The collapse also affects the way that the facet joints in the back of the spine "line up". Like any other joint in the body, the change in the way the bones fit together causes abnormal pressure on the articular cartilage. Articular cartilage is the smooth shiny material that covers the end of the bones in any joint. Over time, this abnormal pressure causes wear and tear arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the facet joints.

Don't suffer another minute!!! Call our office to reserve an appointment with Dr. Hagmeyer and put an end to your neck pain and begin regaining your life back. (630) 718-0555.

Dr. Richard Hagmeyer D.C.

Naperville Institue For Neuro Metabolic Solutions

1020 104th St. Suite 100

Naperville, IL 60564

(630) 718-0555