If you are one of the 3 million new cases each year, then learning the things to avoid with degenerative disc disease is of the utmost priority. DDD, as it’s also known, can cause stiffness and intense pain as discs lose their cushioning and vertebrae grind together.
It’s as unpleasant as it sounds, but there are some things you can do to control the pain. Here are some tips.
Avoid Prolonged Sitting
If you’ve found yourself asking the question of can degenerative disc disease heal, then you’re going to be disappointed to find that it cannot. However, you can take a lot of the discomfort out of the equation just by reducing your time sitting down.
Prolonged sitting has many negative health effects that go beyond DDD. It exacerbates the degenerative disc problem, however, by applying more pressure on the spine. Considering many workers sit more than six hours per day, that’s a lot of stress to put on an already problematic part of the body.
Strenuous Work
Simple things for people with healthy discs aren’t so easy for those with DDD. The repetitive motion of things like vacuuming and mowing or any kind of strenuous menial labor can cause great pain. If you want to know how to fix degenerative disc disease, start by reducing the amount of strenuous labor that you’re taking on.
Floor Time
Playing with your children or grandchildren is great fun for many in need of degenerative disc disease treatment. At least, it is until they have to get up off the floor.
That’s when you really notice all the spine and skeletal system as a whole are able to do (or not do as the case may be). Try to reduce your amount of floor time as even a carpeted floor is too hard on the spine after several minutes.
Foods That Cause Inflammation
Many of the foods that cause obesity and diabetes are also havoc on degenerative disc disease. We’re talking about added sugars, preservatives, vegetable oils, and red meat. Try to avoid as much as possible.
See, this only serves to exacerbate your degenerative disc disease symptoms. It does so by causing inflammation, which is the key driver of pains with osteoarthritis and all types of other skeletal system trauma.
Laundry and Dishes
By now, you should know the answer to what is the best treatment for degenerative disc disease? It’s to make it easier on your body. Two things that you should consider reducing: laundry and dishes.
There’s simply too much bending down, heavy lifting, and repetitive motion. If you must go about it, consider splitting it up into smaller chunks so you’re not having to put uninterrupted stress on the spine. (And for more information on whether what you’re experiencing is DDD, take this quiz.
Keep These Things to Avoid With Degenerative Disc Disease In Mind
The things to avoid with degenerative disc disease that we have presented here will only make your symptoms worse. If you want to break free from the pain cycle and enjoy a better quality of life, then you must be proactive in managing the aches and pains. For more health-related tips and articles, check out some of our additional posts!
