Degenerative disc disease is very common, affecting millions of Americans. As people age, their spinal discs can start to degenerate as a part of the aging process. The discs of your spine cushion the vertebrae and absorb shock. As you grow older, these discs can wear down and not function properly. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 40% of Americans ages 40 and older suffer from some degree of degenerative disc disease. However, some people who have bulging or herniated discs might only experience mild symptoms while others might suffer more severe symptoms.
When someone with degenerative disc disease is injured in a motor vehicle accident or another type of accident in which their spine is impacted or jarred, the trauma can greatly exacerbate the pain and other symptoms of degenerative disc disease. Even though the disease might be pre-existing, people who suffer worsened disc injuries because of the negligent actions of others can still pursue compensation for their losses through personal injury lawsuits.
Overview of Degenerative Disc Disease
Spinal discs between the vertebrae of the spinal column help to increase the stability and health of the spine while also making it more flexible. Intervertebral discs cushion the vertebra of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions of the spine. Discs are comprised of four parts, including the outer and inner annulus, the transition area, and the central nucleus pulposus.
Taken together, a functional spinal unit includes the spinal ligaments, the intervertebral disc, and the vertebrae above and below the disc. Facet joints on the back of the spinal unit work with the intervertebral disc to support the load at the spinal level.
In the middle of a vertebral disc, there is a gelatinous substance called the nucleus pulposus. This substance helps to distribute load pressure in all directions of the disc. It is made up of collagen and other materials that attract water into the nucleus. Through the natural aging process, the disc will start to break down from repetitive loading, and the nucleus pulposus will start to dehydrate. As the discs start to lose water, they become thinner and provide less cushioning to your vertebrae and the peripheral nerves that enter the spine and leave to other parts of your body.
In addition to thinning of the discs, wear and tear from minor injuries and everyday movements can also cause small cracks and tears in the outer annulus of the discs where the nerves are located. These cracks can cause pain because of their proximity to the nerves. If the nucleus pulposus then bulges out of a crack in the outer annulus or causes the disc to slip out of place, you might then suffer a bulging or herniated disc. Bulging discs and herniated discs can cause pain in the area of the affected vertebra that can also radiate to other parts of the body along impacted nerves.
Symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease
The symptoms you might experience from degenerative disc disease will depend on the location of the herniated or bulging disc and the severity of the degeneration. Some of the common symptoms that people experience from degenerative disc disease include the following:
- Lower back pain
- Upper thigh pain
- Intermittent pain
- Pain that feels worse while sitting and better while standing or walking
- Pain that feels worse when you twist, bend, or lift
- Pain that lessens when you change positions or lie down
Degenerative disc disease can also cause pain that radiates down the arms or legs and numbness when the discs impact the nerves close to the spine. While many people suffer from degenerative disc disease, some have only minor symptoms that can be worsened in an accident.
How Is Degenerative Disc Disease Treated?
If you are diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, your treatment will depend on how far the degeneration has progressed. Disc deterioration is not reversible, so most treatment options will be focused on reducing pain. Some of the treatments that your doctor might recommend include the following:
• Corticosteroid injections – If you are suffering pain during the early stages of degenerative disc disease, your doctor might give you injections of corticosteroids. These substances help to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
• Pain medication – Your doctor might prescribe prescription pain medications to help to relieve pain from degenerative disc disease. However, because of the high potential for addiction to these types of drugs, your doctor may opt not to prescribe them or might do so for only a short time.
• Physical therapy – Your doctor might refer you to a physical therapist who can help you to learn different exercises to strengthen the muscles in your back. Physical therapy can help you to reduce muscle weakness and complement other types of treatment you might receive.
• Disc replacement surgery – If your disc is severely deteriorated, your doctor might recommend disc replacement surgery. In this procedure, your degenerated disc will be replaced with an artificial one to reduce pain and increase the flexibility and stability of your spine.
• Spinal fusion surgery – Spinal fusion surgery is commonly performed on people who suffer from degenerative disc disease. In this surgical procedure, two vertebrae are fused together to stop the friction between them because of a completely degenerated disc. The goal of this procedure is to cause the two vertebrae to fuse into one solid bony structure instead of two separate vertebrae.
• Laminectomy – Some people with degenerative disc disease have bone spurs that form on their vertebrae. If you have several bone spurs, your doctor might recommend a laminectomy, which is a procedure in which the bone spurs are removed because they place pressure on the spinal cord.
How Trauma From an Accident Can Affect Someone With Degenerative Disc Disease
Even a relatively minor spinal injury in an accident can aggravate a pre-existing degenerative disc disease in someone who suffers from this condition. When the back and spine are jarred or physically impacted in an accident, a victim can suffer additional injuries. Even people who have asymptomatic degenerative disc disease can start suffering serious pain because their dormant conditions are activated by the trauma they experience in accidents.
People with healthy discs who suffer trauma to their spines and backs in accidents can also suffer from stretched ligaments and muscle strain, which can cause muscle tearing and trauma to the surfaces of the facet joints. During the acute phase, inflammation in the area can occur and gradually resolve, causing the pain to reduce.
By contrast, people with degenerative disc disease who suffer trauma to a degenerative disc in an accident will go through a different process. They will suffer more effects from the trauma beyond injuries to the soft tissues and can also suffer symptoms and pain from the degenerated disc. A resolution of the pain and inflammation of the impacted disc from the accident might not occur, and the cartilage on the facet joint’s surface may also be damaged.
Can Degenerative Disc Disease Affect a Personal Injury Claim?
If you suffer injuries in a car accident or fall caused by the negligence of someone else, having a pre-existing degenerative disc disease could potentially affect your personal injury claim. In many cases, people with pre-existing degenerative disc disease do not discover that they have this condition until a doctor identifies it on an x-ray or another imaging study. Insurance companies will typically try to argue that the injuries people suffered in the accident were actually caused by their pre-existing degenerative disc disease instead of from the accident itself.
People who have pre-existing degenerative disc disease will likely require more treatment for a longer time after an accident. They are also likelier to have a poor prognosis for fully recovering and have a heightened risk of developing spondylosis or arthritis of the spine in the future. Insurance companies try to reduce how much they have to pay out on claims by hiring medical experts to argue that the ongoing residual effects of the trauma on the spine are caused by the pre-existing degenerative disc disease instead of the accidents.
The job of a personal injury attorney in this type of situation is to convince the court or jury that the symptoms you are experiencing were caused by the trauma you suffered in your accident instead of your underlying medical condition. Even if your degenerative disc disease was already symptomatic before a fall or motor vehicle accident, trauma suffered on top of the condition can cause a significant aggravation of your symptoms.
People who have underlying conditions that suffer aggravated injuries because of trauma in accidents are protected under California’s tort laws. When an accident triggers this condition and causes symptoms to worsen, your pre-existing degenerative disc disease cannot serve as a bar to your ability to recover compensation for your injuries from the negligent party who caused your accident.
Get Help From an Experienced Injury Lawyer
If you have suffered back or spinal injuries in an accident and have learned that you also have degenerative disc disease, you should speak to a personal injury attorney at the law firm of Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Attorneys, APC. We can review your case and help you to prove that the negligent party should be responsible for paying for your losses. Call us today for a free consultation at 866.966.5240.
