Symptoms & Diagnosis of Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease in Vacaville

The symptoms that come with cervical degenerative disc disease in Vacaville are different for every person.

When the cervical degenerative disc disease becomes symptomatic, the pain can gradually develop over time or even suddenly appear. The symptoms can be mild or debilitating, which can radiate into the arm or hand.

Common symptoms of cervical degenerative disc disease in Vacaville

These are the common characteristics of cervical DDD symptoms:

• Neck pain: A low-grade pain of a stiff neck is a common symptom of this disease. However, the pain can sometimes flare up and become severe then it can last for a few hours or days.
• Pain worsens with movement: The pain caused by a degenerative disc can be aggravated by movement and rest.
• Nerve pain: You will feel a sharp or electric-like pain that radiates down the shoulder into the arm, hand, and/or fingers. Nerve pain only affects one side of the body.
• Neurological symptoms in the arm, hand, and/or fingers: Numbness, weakness, and/or pins-and-needles tingling can radiate down the shoulder into the arm, hand, and/or fingers. Experiencing these symptoms can interfere with your daily life.

If the pain is caused by a degenerative disc, it can go away on its own within a few weeks or months. However, there are some symptoms of cervical degenerative disc disease that can become chronic and may require treatment if the neck's facet joints start to degenerate and/or a spinal nerve gets pinched.

Less common symptoms of cervical degenerative disc disease

As your cervical spine continues to degenerate, the spinal canal will become narrower and may put the spinal cord at risk. Once the spinal cord becomes compressed, then myelopathy could develop and may come with the following symptoms:

• Difficulty moving the arms and/or legs
• Loss of bowel and/or bladder control
• Trouble with balance and/or coordination
• Numbness and/or weakness anywhere below the back
• Shock-like pains through the arms or legs that worsens when bending forward

Cervical myelopathy can be considered an emergency and will require immediate medical attention. It is common in people who are over 50 years old.

Diagnosing cervical degenerative disc disease

This condition can be diagnosed through the following:

• Medical History: Aside from learning the current symptoms, the doctor will first review the medical history of the patient.
• Physical Examination: A physical examination will be performed by palpating the neck and testing its range of motion. During this test, the patient will be asked to perform specific movements and report whether the neck pain increases or decreases. If the pain is severe or there are neurological symptoms like pain, weakness, or tingling in the shoulder, arm, or hand, then an imaging study will be conducted next.
• Imaging Confirmation: If an imaging study is requested by the doctor to check for a potential disc problem, then an MRI will likely be next in the process. An MRI, X-ray, or even a CT scan can confirm whether and where the degeneration is happening, and even identify other conditions that could be causing the symptoms.

Once cervical degenerative disc disease has been confirmed, as well as many other related conditions, then the source of the symptoms can be identified and a treatment program will be created. With that in mind, you can get yourself checked by a chiropractor like Dr. Alex Tam of Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine. You can get in touch with him by dialing (707) 474-5688 and schedule an appointment right away.