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Degenerative spine disease is one of most common causes of neck pain and back pain.  The most important risk factor is aging.  The intervertebral discs and facet joints degenerates or wear out over an individual’s lifetime.  As variety of changes occur in the spine as it becomes more “degenerative” over time, they include disc bulges, herniated disc, osteophyte (bone-spur) formation, facet joint hypertrophy (overgrowth), facet joint arthropathy (arthritis), spinal stenosis (narrowing), and degenerative scoliosis (spine curvature).  Many of changes are similar to changes seen in other joints through the body.  However, these changes in the spine can cause mechanical compression of the spine cord and nerve roots, resulting in myelopathy (spinal cord dysfunction) or radiculopathy (irritation and dysfunction of nerve roots).  Without treatment, these changes can lead to persistent pain, weakness, loss of sensation, loss of ability to walk, or incontinence.

Current science and technology is unable to provide physicians with the ability to reverse the degenerative changes in the spine and cure one’s degenerative spine disease.  Treatment goal for degenerative spine disease is based on symptom management, and treatment is generally initiated with conservative or non-surgical therapies.  The overwhelming presenting symptom of degenerative spine disease is pain.  Patients with mild or moderate pain are best managed with medication, physical therapy, injections, and other non-invasive medical therapy.  Those with severe pain and failed conservative therapy can benefit from spine surgery.  Various surgical treatments are available for degenerative spine disease, ranging from artificial disc replacement to complex spinal reconstructions. 

At the USC Neurosurgery Spine Center, treatment for degenerative spine disease is individualized, based on your symptoms, imaging findings, and overall medical health.  We have a comprehensive treatment program to meet all the needs of patients with symptomatic degenerative spine disease. Our philosophy in the treatment of degenerative spine disease is to provide patients with the most updated medical and surgical treatments available, through a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach.  Our medical team is consist of spine surgeons, neurologists, anesthesiologists, neuro-interventionalists, radiologists, physical therapists, and pain specialists that can provide you with a wide variety of treatments, ranging from physical rehabilitation and therapeutic injections to minimally invasive spine surgeries and complex spinal reconstructions.