I'm new to this site and I have some
questions I hope you can help me with. I
went to the ER about 4 months ago with
pain in my lower back and my left leg all
the way down to my toes. The ER doctor
told me after he looked at my CT scan that
I have 3 bulging dics in my lower back and
narrowing of the spine. That is why my
back and leg hurts . He referred me to my
family dr. and a neurosurgen (sp). My
family doctor acted like it was no big
deal. The neurosurgen said I have
Radiculitis and DDD and referred me to a
Pain Management doctor and to have a nerve
study done.
So my question is...Is bulging discs and
DDD the same thing and would all that
cause my leg to hurt so bad I can't sleep
at night?
mstover3
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yogahoneybunny
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Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 888 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
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Are Bulging Discs the Same As Ddd? Posted: 09-13-07 06:52am
No, these two terms describe different
processes.
DDD stands for degenerative disc disease.
When discs age they loose water and become
dried out and brittle, like a rubber band
that you leave out in the sun. Once it is
dried out if you pull on it it won't
stretch but it will break instead. So,
degenerative disc disease is basically
like arthritis of the disc.
A bulging disc is a slight protrusion of
the center of the disc (nucleus pulposus)
into the spinal canal. Bulging discs are
very common, and may not produce any
symptoms at all as the annulus fibrosus
(outer ring of the disc) has not been
ruptured. If this outer ring ruptures, it
is then called a "herniated disc".
Perhaps it's not the discs themselves that
are painful, but maybe they are applying
pressure to the nerves that travel to your
leg and foot. Wait for the neurology
report to come back, and let us know what
is reads.
