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• Degenerative Joint Disease Treatment

Degenerative Joint Disease Treatment

Degenerative joint disease treatment is usually intended to alleviate the patient’s arthritic pain and increase mobility of the affected joint. In many ways, treatment of arthritis is unique in that there is no known cure for arthritis, nor can its ill-effects be reversed. Instead, when a patient suffers from degenerative joint disease, the goal of treatment is usually to handle the patient’s symptoms meaningfully but also non-surgically, as spinal surgery should always be considered a last resort after all other more conservative options have proven ineffective.

Causes

Degenerative joint disease is most often caused by nothing more than the regular aging process, although environmental factors like injury, obesity, years of smoking, and prolonged repetitive activities can all exacerbate the onset of arthritis as well. The vertebral joints in the spine are cartilage-coated structures that stabilize the spine and allow the vertebrae to articulate without grinding against one another. Osteoarthritis occurs as the cartilage begins to wear and away and bone-on-bone contact occurs.

Treatments

Generally speaking, if a patient is experiencing symptoms that can be associated with degenerative joint disease, treatment is normally first attempted with a series of noninvasive treatments. Some of the most commonly recommended techniques include:

• Pain medication, muscle relaxants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• Physical therapy
• Deep tissue massage
• Low-impact exercises and stretching programs
• Healthy diet
• Behavior modification
• Alternative treatments such as yoga, acupuncture, and herbal supplements

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In the event that the patient does not experience sufficient pain relief from these treatments, spine surgery may be recommended to remove the arthritic joint from the spine. If you are considering undergoing an open spine surgery, contact Laser Spine Institute to learn how one of our state-of-the-art, minimally invasive procedures might be just the thing you need to rediscover your life without back and neck pain.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.