Are you one of the millions of Americans who have been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease? Degenerative disc disease can cause severe pain in your back and legs, seriously impacting your quality of life.
Having degenerative disc disease can also impact the way that you sleep, leading to nights of tossing and turning due to discomfort. Find out how you can sleep better with degenerative discs.
What Is Degenerative Disc Disease?
Degenerative disc disease is a spinal condition caused by the natural aging process. When you have degenerative disc disease, the vertebral discs in your spine begin to deteriorate and break down. This deterioration can lead to a number of symptoms, including the following:
- Lower back pain
- Neck pain
- Soreness in the shoulder blades
- Pain in the extremities
- Trouble sleeping
- Pain when sitting for prolonged periods
- Trouble walking long distances
- Difficulty standing for long periods
Degenerative disc disease can start to develop after age 40, but it is most prevalent in people over age 70. It is an incredibly common condition, accounting for about 5% of adult back pain patients in the United States.
How to Sleep with Degenerative Discs
When you have degenerative disc disease, you may struggle with chronic pain in your back, legs, and thighs. To reduce this pain, there are a variety of things you can do, but one simple way to reduce degenerative disc symptoms and prevent further progression of the disease is by sleeping in the appropriate positions.
The preferred sleeping position for patients with degenerative discs is on your stomach. This position relieves pressure on your vertebral disc space. Many people find it more comfortable when they place a flat pillow under their stomachs and hips. This further opens the disc space and decreases pressure and stress on the lower back.
Another sleeping position for people with degenerative discs is on the back but with the upper body slightly elevated and the knees in a gently bent position. Elevating the upper body can be achieved with a wedge pillow or adjustable bed. This position also decreases pressure on the discs and relieves back pain.
Other Treatment Options for Degenerative Disc Disease
While sleeping in certain positions can reduce your pain at night, what can you do to address degenerative disc disease symptoms during the day? There are a number of different approaches to degenerative discs, including medications, surgery, and physical therapy.
More people with degenerative disc disease are turning to regenerative options like stem cell therapy and PRP injections. Research continues on this alternative medicine option, but many studies have shown its promising potential to help the healing process for many patients experiencing back or orthopedic pain.
This post was written by a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine for back pain, also known as stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions.
