Cervical degenerative disc disease can be caused by a twisting injury to a disc space in the cervical spine. This can begin the degenerative process and lead to chronic neck pain. This degenerative condition is less common in the cervical spine than in the lumbar spine because there is substantially less torque and force across the cervical section of the spine.

It should be noted that the term degenerative disc disease is somewhat misleading. Although the disc will be likely to continue to degenerate with age, that does not mean the pain will worsen. In fact, the pain will usually diminish over time. Also, it is not really a disease, but instead it is a condition that will sometimes (but not always) cause pain resulting from a damaged disc or natural aging.

This disc degeneration is very common and will occur in most people as they age; however, not all will experience symptoms. In addition to natural occurrence of disc degeneration due to aging, other factors that can contribute to degenerative disc disease are:

• Poor nutrition
• Smoking
• Atherosclerosis
• Physical activities
• Genetics

Symptoms
The main symptom of cervical degenerative disc disease is neck pain. Of course, there are many things that can cause neck pain, so having this symptom does not automatically indicate this condition. A patient with this condition can also experience some radicular pain in the arm and shoulder.

Most people will experience some degree of degeneration of their discs as they grow older, simply as a function of aging, sometimes exacerbated by their lifestyle. However, not everyone with degenerative disc disease will experience symptoms.

• Cervical degenerative disc disease • Types of neck pain • Common causes of back pain and neck pain

Diagnosis
Degenerative disc disease can often be seen with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. The MRI is very specific for diagnosing degenerative disc disease. A CT myelogram may sometimes also be ordered if nerve root pinching is suspected from a disc herniation/stenosis, but is not well visualized on the MRI scan.

An imaging scan may show degeneration of a disc in a patient who isn't experiencing any symptoms. Seeing normal degeneration due to aging is very common, and does not indicate a problem unless neck or shoulder pain or stiffness is being experienced. Therefore, a diagnosis of this condition must include a good history of the patient's symptoms and a physical examination in conjunction with the imaging scan. As a matter of fact, myofascial pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia are more likely to cause chronic neck pain than degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. The symptoms have to be well correlated with any imaging findings before a diagnosis can be confirmed.

The physician will probably also do a neurological examination to determine if there is any neurological damage, and also a study of the shoulders to be sure the pain isn't originating there instead of in the spine. (Continued on next page.)