Why Your Lower Back Pain Might Be Degenerative Disc Disease—and How a Chiropractor Can Help
Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical care. While muscle strain is often blamed, another frequent—but overlooked—culprit is degenerative disc disease (DDD). It’s not just a condition affecting old people, young adults can also be at risk with certain lifestyles and bad habits.
If your discomfort is recurring, radiating, or worsening over time, your discs could be telling you something important.
What Is Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)?
Despite the name, DDD isn’t an actual disease. It’s a condition that happens when the cushioning discs between your spinal vertebrae begin to break down due to wear and tear. Over time, these discs lose hydration, shrink, and lose their ability to absorb shock—leading to pain, stiffness, or nerve pressure.
At risk? You might be, especially if you’re over 30, lead an active lifestyle with repetitive motions, or have a history of spinal injuries.
How DDD Might Be Affecting Your Lower Back Pain
Here’s the thing. According to a study published by the Fukushima Journal of Medical Science, disc degeneration isn’t necessarily a predictor of pain or reduced quality of life.
In other words, many people have visible wear-and-tear in their lower back discs—even more than average for their age—and feel totally fine. But in cases where DDD causes lower back pain, it can still be concerning.
1. It Could Get Worse Over Time
Even if you don’t feel pain now, more degeneration could make your spine less flexible or more prone to injury down the line. Think of it like a tire with worn-out treads—it might be driving fine today, but it’s more vulnerable in the long run.
2. Pain Can Come and Go
Some people only experience symptoms when inflammation flares up or when they lift something the wrong way. So you might be pain-free now but could still be at risk later, especially if there are other contributing factors like weak core muscles or poor posture.
3. Other Structures May Be Affected
Disc degeneration can sometimes lead to herniated discs, nerve compression, or spinal stenosis, which can cause serious pain, numbness, or mobility issues—even if the disc wear itself isn’t painful.
Concerns for Young Adults with Degenerative Disc Disease and Lower Back Pain
In younger patients, early-onset DDD increases the likelihood of developing severe spinal conditions. Approximately 20% of teenagers show signs of mild disc degeneration, which can have long-term implications if not addressed early. These individuals are at a higher risk for conditions such as:
- Slipped Discs: This includes bulging, protruded, prolapsed, herniated, or extruded discs. These conditions occur when the disc material pushes out of its normal boundary, potentially pressing on nerves and causing pain.
- Sciatica: This condition is characterized by pain radiating along the path of the sciatic nerve, often due to a herniated disc pressing on the nerve roots.
- Facet Hypertrophy: This involves the enlargement of the facet joints, which can lead to pain and stiffness in the spine.
- Hypertrophy of Ligamentum Flavum: The thickening of this ligament, which runs along the back of the spinal canal, can contribute to spinal stenosis and nerve compression.
- Radiculitis: Inflammation of a nerve root, often resulting from disc degeneration or herniation, can cause pain, tingling, or weakness in the affected area.
- Spondylosis: This refers to the degeneration of the spinal discs and the formation of bone spurs, leading to reduced mobility and discomfort.
- Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: This condition involves the forward slippage of one vertebra over another due to degenerative changes in the spine. It commonly occurs at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 segments but can also affect the cervical spine.
Does the Pattern of Disc Wear in Your Lower Back Matter?
This study looked at over 3,000 people in Southern China to understand whether the pattern of disc degeneration in the lower back plays a role in how much pain people feel.
When spinal discs wear out, they don’t always do it in a neat row. Some people have “contiguous” degeneration, where several neighboring discs break down in a row. Others have “skipped level” degeneration, where healthy discs sit between damaged ones.
The researchers found that people whose disc wear was contiguous (CMDD)—all in a row—were more likely to have low back pain and also reported worse pain compared to people with skipped disc wear (SLDD).
They also discovered that as skipped disc patterns became more severe (from type I to type V), the chance of pain and disc bulging increased—but surprisingly, overall disability levels didn’t really change between the two groups.
What Does This Mean for You?
Not all disc damage is equal—how your discs are wearing out may affect your pain levels.
If your x-ray imaging shows disc problems in a row (CMDD), you might be more likely to experience more frequent or severe low back pain.
Even if you have skipped level damage, the more severe the pattern, the higher the chance of pain.
Related article: Treating Degenerative Disc Disease With Non Surgical Treatments
Symptoms That Point to DDD in the Lower Back
1. Persistent Pain That Gets Worse When You Sit, Bend, or Lift
One of the hallmark signs of degenerative disc disease is a nagging ache in the lower back that seems to intensify when you’re sitting for long periods—like working at a desk or driving. That’s because sitting places more pressure on your spinal discs, especially in the lumbar region.
You might also feel this pain flare up when you bend forward to tie your shoes, do laundry, or pick something off the floor. Lifting heavy objects? That can be especially triggering if your discs have lost their ability to cushion and absorb shock.
2. Pain That Radiates to Your Hips, Buttocks, or Legs
This isn’t just back pain anymore. When a degenerated disc puts pressure on nearby nerves, the pain can spread—often called referred pain or radicular pain. Many people report a dull or sharp ache that travels down to the hips, buttocks, or even the thighs. In some cases, it can feel like sciatica—a shooting pain down one or both legs.
This nerve-related discomfort often points to disc involvement and can signal that the disc space has narrowed or a disc bulge is pressing on a nerve root.
3. Morning Stiffness or Limited Flexibility
You might notice that your lower back feels stiff or stuck when you first wake up, or after sitting still for too long. This stiffness can make it harder to twist, bend, or move freely. It’s usually a sign that the discs aren’t as flexible as they used to be—and that inflammation or degeneration is affecting your spinal mobility.
Once you start moving, the stiffness often eases up, but that restricted feeling tends to return throughout the day.
4. Flare-Ups That Come and Go
One of the trickier parts about DDD is that the pain isn’t always constant. You might go days—or even weeks—feeling pretty normal, only to have a sudden flare-up after a long car ride or a weekend of yard work. These cycles of discomfort and relief are classic with DDD and often cause people to dismiss the condition until it becomes more frequent or severe.
Over time, flare-ups may become more regular, and you might find yourself relying more on heat packs, stretching routines, or pain meds to get through them.
5. Pain That Eases When You Walk or Change Positions
Many people with DDD feel better when they’re moving. Walking, gentle stretching, or even shifting positions while sitting can bring temporary relief. Why? Because movement helps take pressure off the spinal discs and increases blood flow, which can reduce stiffness and inflammation.
If you’ve ever felt worse after resting too long, and better after getting up and walking around, it could be a subtle clue that your back pain is disc-related.
How a Chiropractor Can Help
Chiropractors take a whole-body, root-cause approach. They focus on improving the mechanics of your spine—how it moves, aligns, and responds to stress. If your spine is misaligned or under pressure, the surrounding tissues and nerves can become inflamed, which only adds to the pain.
A chiropractor can help relieve that pressure through targeted techniques like spinal adjustments, flexion-distraction, spinal decompression therapy or soft tissue therapy. These non-invasive methods aim to restore function, improve mobility, and reduce the stress that contributes to disc degeneration in the first place.
One of The Best Chiropractic Centers in Malaysia
Living with degenerative disc disease doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a lifetime of discomfort or limited movement. With the right approach—including chiropractic care—you can stay active, reduce pain, and support your spine’s long-term health. Chiropractors can also minimise the onset of other spinal conditions that may come with degenerative disc disease and relieve any pain.
Advancing as pioneers in the field since 2007, we are the first chiropractic center in Malaysia to offer integrated digital x-ray services, streamlining your chiropractic care under one roof. Many patients have found success and results with Osso Bone Care due to our unique, signature treatments and by showing evidence of the spinal condition with our Digital X-Ray screening, which accurately diagnoses the root cause of the spinal conditions.
Why Would You Want to Go to a Different Place if OSSO Bone Care Chiropractic® has All That You Need?