Degenerative Disc Diseases: A Brief Review

Back pain of different etiology is a common encountered symptoms in daily practice. Several factors were associated with the development of degenerative disease (DDD) of the intervertebral disc (IVD).

The intervertebral disc, usually asymptomatic but once became symptomatic it will be presented as a low back pain with is consider the main complain among the patient with IVD. Both genetic as well as environmental factors lead to progressive redaction in extracellular matrix (ECM) composition which resulted overtime in weak IVD. Clinically back pain divided into two main categories: Inflammatory versus mechanical back pain, DDD typically present with mechanical type lower back pain.

In patient with compatible history and physical exam findings, diagnosis of DDD can be confirmed by computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or provocative discography.

The DDD can be manage with several treatment strategies such as conservative therapy which aim to relief the pain, on the other hand, surgical approach which aim to definitely treat the DDD. The current study aims to provide a brief review about degenerative disc diseases.