cervical spine x ray degenerative joint disease

Essentially all people who live long enough will develop degenerated discs. As such, a tear in the disc either will not heal or will develop weaker scar tissue that has potential to break again.Ĭervical degenerative disc disease is not technically a disease, but rather a description of the degenerative process that discs located in the cervical spine go through. The disc is not able to truly repair itself because it does not have a direct blood supply (instead getting nutrients and metabolites via diffusion with adjacent vertebrae through the cartilaginous endplates). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders 2011 Chapter 17.īut in some people the disc can lose hydration much more quickly.Īs the disc loses hydration, it offers less cushioning and becomes more prone to cracks and tears. Imaging Painful Spinal Disorders, 1st ed. Some estimates have the disc’s water content typically falling to 70% by age 70,ġ Czervionke L. The discs begin to naturally lose hydration during the aging process. In children, the discs are about 85% water. The nucleus gives the disc its shock absorption property. Sealed inside the annulus fibrosus is a soft interior filled with a mucoprotein gel called the nucleus pulposus. Normally, there are six gel-like cervical discs (one between each of the cervical spine’s vertebrae) that absorb shock and prevent vertebral bones from rubbing against each other while the neck moves.Įach disc is comprised of a tough but flexible outer layer of woven cartilage strands, called the annulus fibrosus.

Cervical spine x ray degenerative joint disease