Spinal degenerative joint disease treatment is designed to help you manage the painful symptoms that frequently accompany the presence of joint deterioration in the neck or back. This approach doesn’t seek to cure the arthritis but rather looks to minimize its symptoms. Since improvement can often be incremental over time, it’s extremely helpful to know what to expect throughout the treatment process. This will provide peace of mind and help you maintain the proper expectations as you advance through treatment and hopefully resume an active life with the people and activities you love.

Setting expectations for degenerative joint disease treatment

The following advice can help you enter into your degenerative joint disease treatment with the right mindset:

• Arthritic degeneration is permanent. Degenerative joint disease, also known as osteoarthritis, is the wearing away of protective joint cartilage, leading to friction from bone-on-bone contact. Once osteoarthritis has developed, there isn’t a way to regenerate the lost cartilage. As a result, treatments are focused not on reversing the problem but rather on managing discomfort and improving range of motion.
• What works for others may not work for you. Many different treatment options are available for degenerative joint disease but not every treatment is right for every patient. A number of factors inform the development of the treatment plan, including the location of the arthritis, the extent of the symptoms and your overall state of health.
• Trial and error is important. While you are undoubtedly eager to overcome symptoms of your degenerative joint disease, it can take time to find the right combination of techniques that will deliver the best results for you. You may find a treatment you tried several weeks ultimately proves unsuccessful. This should not be discouraging because it provides your doctor with valuable, additional information.
• Your plan needs to be followed closely. For example, if your doctor recommends you take a walk every morning, commit to that. However, it’s also important not to overdo things. It’s possible to make matters worse, so don’t go farther or faster that what is recommended.
• Surgery may be an option. Very often, conservative nonsurgical techniques are highly effective for degenerative joint disease treatment. However, if after several weeks or months you do not experience sufficient results, it may be worth exploring your surgical options. Partner with your doctor to ensure that you explore all of the options available to you.

To learn more

If you are considering your degenerative joint disease treatment options for your neck or back, contact USA Spine Care to learn about our minimally invasive spine surgery. By using muscle-sparing techniques and advanced technology, our board-certified surgeons are able to access the spine with a less than 1-inch incision, allowing our procedures to be performed on an outpatient basis.

Reach out to one of our dedicated Spine Care Consultants today and ask for your no-cost MRI or CT scan review* to determine if you are a potential candidate for one of our procedures.