Is degenerative disc disease and arthritis the same thing?
My husband was recently in a auto accident at work. They did a CT Scan of his head and neck. The doctor said that the CT Scan found that he has arthritis in his neck. After receiving the report ourselves to take to another doctor it reads: “There is minimal early degenerative disc disease with osteophyte formation predominatly at C5-6. ” My husband never had a problem with his neck before the accident . Now he is in pain and it pops and crunches when he moves it. Are they the same thing? What treatments are there for it? He is going to see a Orthopaedic Specialist but not for another 3 weeks.
No they are not the same thing, but they do commonly go together. Arthritis is pain due to joints rubbing together over time and breaking down the lining between them. Degenerative Disc is just what it sounds like, the disc begin breaking down and crumbling usually due to pressure on the specific joint. I have Scoliosis and I also have Arthritis and Degenerative Disc too. All three together really sucks.
They will probably need to go in and replace the discs with plastic discs or even fuse them together. Hope it goes well for your husband. And before he gets any type of surgery, please get a second and even a third opinion.