How do you treat a black disc?
Treatment may include occupational therapy, physical therapy, or both, special exercises, medications, losing weight, and surgery. Medical options include injecting the joints next to the damaged disc with steroids and a local anesthetic. These are called facet joint injections. They can provide effective pain relief.
Will an MRI showed degenerative disc disease?
An MRI scan can also help detect a collapsed disc space as well as cartilaginous endplate erosion. Both of these issues are closely linked with degenerative disc disease pain, and it will also show bulging discs and pinched nerves.
What does disc degeneration look like on an MRI?
MRI findings like lumbar lordosis, Schmorl’s nodes, decreased disc height, disc annular tear, disc herniation, disc bulge, disc protrusion and disc extrusion were observed. Narrowing of the spinal canal, lateral recess and neural foramen with compression of nerve roots observed.
What can a neurologist do for degenerative disc disease?
Treatment options for condition:
- Diagnostic nerve blocks followed by radiofrequency ablation.
- Facet joint injections.
- Epidural steroid injections: Interlaminar and Transforaminal.
- Spinal cord stimulator.
- Trigger point injections.
Why do I have black discs on my MRI?
Black discs on MRI scans are seen normally as age advances. The discs are the ‘soft cushions’ between the bones of the spine to absorb the weight and load during the normal activities in life. Normal discs contain a lot of water and it acts as a sponge to absorb the shocks while walking, running, sitting, standing and working.
Is there such a thing as a black disc?
A normal healthy disc has a white center (nucleus) but as the disc degenerates its turns a darker color on the MRI scan. In reality, the disc is not black.
Is the black disc a sign of osteoarthritis?
The degenerative process of disc dehydration resulting in the “black disc” is common to all disc spaces in the body and is the earliest sign of normal aging and osteoarthritis in the spine. Degenerative disc disease, therefore, must be distinguished as symptomatic or asymptomatic.
What is the difference between black disc and asymptomatic disc disease?
Degenerative disc disease, therefore, must be distinguished as symptomatic or asymptomatic. The symptomatic “black disc” reflects intrinsic changes in the disc itself that can result in primary joint pain without compression of the traversing spinal nerve roots or spinal cord.
